I taste the summer on your peppery skin
by audi katia
Summary: .:.Lifeguard AU.:. The first day of lifeguard duty, Wally meets the newest lifeguard with less than positive results. Needless to say, the summer passes with several unexpected challenges. Expect fluff, summery troupes, and a strong desire to go to the beach.
1. chapter one

_****Recently, I participated in the YJ holiday exchange on tumblr and ended up word vomiting this in like three days. For those keeping score, this has been on tumblr, but since I wrote it so quickly, I didn't have a chance to revise it. So, this is the revised edition! (and there are still probably more mistakes... let me know if you see any) I had intended to write it as chapters, so it will be posted here in sections as I revise them. :) I wrote this for the ever lovely sarcatt and had a total blast writing this. I hope you all enjoy it!_

_**Disclaimer**: I do not own Young Justice or The Decemberists (the title comes from their song Summersong)_

* * *

**I taste the summer on your peppery skin.**

**chapter one**

"You know," Dick Grayon's voice comes through the phone in a near cackle, "for someone as fast as you, you're always so late."

Wally West might have growled in response had he not be awkwardly trying to avoid running into people in his mad dash across the boardwalk. He's just glad it's still early enough in the morning that the boardwalk isn't completely congested with beach bums and eager tourists.

"Whatever, dude," he exasperates, pressing the phone closer to his ear as he edges between a group of slow walking senior citizens and an inconveniently placed bench. "I'll be there in about four minutes. Just stall."

"Well, _dude_, everyone already knows you're late."

Wally does actually growl this time. He thinks a woman to his left might have given him a wayward glance, but he's too busy bounding over a spilled mess of something sticky to really care.

"Fine," Dick sighs with an air of mock defeat before his tone turns wicked. "I'll just tell them about the time you told me you wet the bed until you were twelve."

"I did _not_ wet the bed until I was twelve!"

This time Wally definitely does notice that people around him are giving him strange looks after his rather loud defense. A cackle sounds over the phone before a clicking noise indicates that the conversation is over, proving that, once again, Dick got the last laugh.

With another frustrated noise through his clenched teeth, Wally shoves his phone into his pocket, nearly tripping as he does so, and launches forward even faster. He can see the Justice Beach lifeguard station just beyond his sight and his eyes narrow at his target. The wooden boards of the boardwalk shutter with each hit of his red and yellow sneakers until finally he's in front of the door and wrenching it open.

Wally feels a certain level of pride about arriving only a few minutes late before he suddenly trips over the threshold and his chin makes resounding contact with the tiled floor below him.

Above him, he can hear the annoyingly familiar laugh from his best friend mixed with a sotto voice he can't quite place.

"Yeah, I can definitely believe this is someone who wet the bed until he was twelve."

Blushing furiously, he looks up to find an unexpected someone smirking down at him. His blush deepens as he realizes this not just an unexpected someone, but a highly attractive unexpected someone. And maybe he can blame his lack of memory on his recent indiscretion with the floor, but he can't think of a time when he's seen more blonde hair before in his life.

From beside the still open door, Conner Kent rolls his eyes and lifts Wally up from the back of his shirt until he can stand on his own. He jerks himself out of the strong grip and digs his heels a little harder into the floor as if determined to never fall again.

"Glad you could join us, Wally," comes the tentative voice of Megan Morse. He glances over to see her standing on Conner's other side, her lithe fingers waving a sweet hello.

He nods in their direction before turning a sour expression onto the blonde girl still grinning at him with maddening superiority.

"Uh, who's this?" Wally manages to spit out, wishing more than anything the blush would finally reside from his cheeks. And ears. And neck.

"Name's Artemis," she offers offhandedly. Her grin quirks a little in greeting. He can see the sharp point of her canine teeth and for a moment his eyes are caught on her lips. "I'm the new lifeguard."

Her statement draws his attention away from the curve of her mouth as he looks around the room punch-drunkenly.

"Where's Roy?" he asks, eyebrows furrowed as he glances around the room, not yet seeing the typical shorn red hair or yellow baseball cap of his friend.

From the opposite end of the shack by the portable whiteboard, Kaldar Ahm clears his throat. Behind him, Wally can see names written on the board in Kaldur's cramped handwriting in a crude form of a schedule, signifying that he had arrived in the middle of duty delegation. Kaldur looks at Wally with such a grave expression that he half expects Kaldur to declare Roy's recent demise.

"Roy has opted to work elsewhere this summer as he has completed his undergraduate courses."

"Our little Roy," Dick quips from his perch on the corner table, pretending to wipe a tear from underneath his sunglasses. "All grown up and getting himself a big boy job."

"Indeed," Kaldur nods, either not recognizing Dick's mockery or else choosing to ignore it, "we should all extend our well wishes to him." He then inclines his head to the girl standing in the middle of the room, hip still cocked out and eyes still smirking at Wally. "In his place, we have Artemis Crock. She is Oliver Queen's niece and thus Roy's cousin. She will be staying with Oliver this summer and has since agreed to be our sixth lifeguard for this station."

Megan lets out a single note of glee before Wally cuts her off with a snort.

"Is she even qualified?" he asks, directing his question to Kaldur. He spares the new girl half a glance only to see that something about his tone makes her smirk turn into a sneer.

"Yes, _she_ is," Artemis responds indignantly before Kaldur can get a word in edge-wise.

Wally turns his full attention on her, and the way she rakes her eyes over his face makes him painfully aware of the line of sunblock he had slathered onto his nose that morning. She holds his stare for a moment and Wally thinks he can hear Megan hold her breath behind him.

"Whatever, Baywatch," Artemis finally says, waving him off with airy dismissal. "I'm here to stay."

Before Wally can even respond, she turns on the spot with her arms crossed and waits for Kaldur to resume duty delegation. The rest of the room follows suit and Kaldur takes advantage of the silence to continue his previously interrupted explanation of their rules as lifeguards.

Throughout the entire speech Wally convinces himself that he's ignoring Artemis wholeheartedly. That pipedream shatters rather anticlimactically when he feels his blush return the moment she looks at him. She spares him a single sidelong look with arched eyebrows and a smirk that could start a war.

Wally groans internally with the realization that this is going to be the longest summer of his life.

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Please review!


	2. chapter two

_Thank you to everyone reading this! Thank you for taking the time to read my work and a special thank you to those who have left reviews. I thoroughly appreciate it. :) Please enjoy this next installment! The installments are small, but I am hoping to update every day/every other day, so there will never be a long wait. :) Enjoy!_

_**NOTE**: I am not a lifeguard. I have never been a lifeguard. I have never been saved by a lifeguard. Any and all lifeguard duties are researched through observation, internet research, and discussion with a friend who is a lifeguard. If you are a lifeguard and you notice a mistake, please let me know. I want my writing to be as realistic as possible. :)_

_**Disclaimer**: I do not own Young Justice or The Decemberists (the title comes from their song Summersong)._

* * *

**I taste the summer on your peppery skin.**

**chapter two**

Several hours later, Wally finds himself in the Wayne beach house with Dick, blowing off some steam with their favorite zombie slayer video game. But Artemis's smirk and comments fill his mind and it's not until Dick's victorious shouts echo off the walls that Wally realizes his character's been brutally hit. Digital blood splatters across Dick's big screen television, signaling the death of Wally's character. Throwing his controller down in personal disgust, Wally can practically hear the smug grin growing on Dick's face.

"I love when you're distracted," Dick preens happily, putting his controller down and folding his hands behind his head. "It makes beating you even easier."

Wally frowns at him, flicking at the skinny elbow in his face before bringing back the blonde haired subject at hand.

"Seriously though? Did she have to say that in front of everyone? In front of Megan?"

Dick lowers his arms and pushes the sunglasses haphazardly on his already messy hair to look at Wally in confusion.

"I thought you jumped off the Megan train?"

Wally sighs, trying to forget last year's vain attempts to win Megan's heart. He nearly winces with residual embarrassment as he remembers his seagull-like squawk when he found out she had been dating Conner for months.

"I did," he reassures before leaning back into the couch cushions crossly. "But still! I don't need attitude from the newbie."

He tries to put as much contempt into the last word as possible, but apparently it falls flat because Dick just laughs it off and perches himself more comfortably on the arm of the couch.

"Wally, chill. She made a joke. You're the one who made an ass out of yourself when you fell."

"She didn't need to say anything at all." He can hear himself sounding like a whiny child, but for the moment he doesn't care.

"True," Dick relents, his expression mildly thoughtful. But then he shrugs as he mutes the video game music on loop in the background. "But if we didn't rag on each other, none of us would be friends. She didn't say anything we wouldn't have said to you." Dick pauses for a moment, his expression now thoroughly thoughtful and he even taps his chin as he thinks. "Well, maybe not Kaldur. Kaldur's too polite. And Megan's too sweet. But I like to think that Conner and I have always made up for the two of them."

Dick's shiteating grin inspires Wally to aim a lazy kick at him from the opposite end of the couch.

"Whatever, man," Dick says, easily leaning back in avoidance from Wally's foot with his shiteating grin still firmly in place. "Personally, I think she fits in pretty well."

"She does not fit in at all!" Wally exclaims, twisting in his seat to stare wide-eyed at his friend.

"You're just jealous because you embarrassed yourself in front of a pretty girl," Dick concludes smugly.

It's certainly not his finest moment when he starts sputtering words like "pretty" and "what" and "she," but Wally finally manages to say, "Shut up. The Wall-Man doesn't get embarrassed."

"Call me presumptuous, but maybe the Wall-Man," Dick pauses here to take a moment to roll his eyes dramatically, "isn't quite as smooth with the ladies as he likes to think he is."

"I am so smooth with the ladies," Wally protests, hands thrown up in the air as if extravagant gestures will help prove his point. "She's just not a lady." He struggles with a better description of her behavior, but the combination of Dick's horrendously incorrect accusation mixed with Artemis's behavior that morning leaves him with a lame finish. "She's a not-lady."

"Ooh, who's got the clever wordplay now?" Dick teases, blue eyes nearly sparking.

"Shut up," Wally repeats insistently. He picks up his controller, wordlessly convincing Dick to join him in another round of killing zombies. "I just don't like that she's taking over Roy's place."

He looks over to see if there's any sort of agreement written on Dick's expression, but instead he finds his friend shrugging without much commitment.

"Roy's got some internship in Seattle," Dick says, fiddling with the game's settings. "He's got something better to do with his summer. And whatever, she's not replacing anyone." He eventually turns to look at Wally with the grin no longer present on his face. "She's the new lifeguard and you may as well get used to her."

Wally grunts in response, but Dick pays no mind to it. He starts up a fresh game and a few moments pass in relative silence as their players battle in high definition on the screen. Wally can nearly relax and push the events of the day out of his mind when Dick's voice cuts through his concentration.

"You can start getting used to her right away," Dick comments in a way that most other people would consider offhand. But Wally knows better and immediately narrows his eyes suspiciously in the younger boy's direction. "I invited her to join us this weekend."

And if a few minutes later, Dick's character meets a particularly gruesome end, it at least makes Wally feel marginally better.

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_Please review!_


	3. chapter three

_If you are reading this, please hug yourself since I'm not there to do it myself. Thank you to everyone reading and reviewing, it means so much to me. I will be away for the weekend and I'm not sure if there will be internet where I'm going... If I can't get connection, I will not be updating until Monday, at the latest. But, let's hope for the best, shall we? :)_

_**NOTE**: I am not a lifeguard. I have never been a lifeguard. I have never even been saved by a lifeguard. Any and all lifeguard duties are researched through observation, internet research, and discussion with a friend who is a lifeguard. If you are a lifeguard and you notice a mistake, please let me know. I want my writing to be as realistic as possible. :)_

_**Disclaimer**: I do not own Young Justice or The Decemberists (the title comes from their song Summersong)._

* * *

**I taste the summer on your peppery skin.**

**chapter three**

Gratefully stepping into the cool air-conditioning, Wally shuts the summer air behind him as he closes the door to his aunt and uncle's home. He can already smell the grilled chicken and it sounds like maybe someone is frying okra in the kitchen.

His stomach's eager grumbling is greeted by the teasing laughter of his aunt. He looks up to see Iris peeking at him from the kitchen with a raised eyebrow.

"Let me guess," she jokes, "you were so hungry you ran right home?"

He grins a little at her comment, glad to think of their house as home. Shucking his sneakers off into the already shoe-cluttered corner, he nods.

"Took it at a bit of a jog, yeah."

Iris shakes her head, red hair swishing pleasantly around her shoulders as she waves him off to go clean up before dinner. She steps back into the kitchen, calling out to her husband who Wally can't see from his stance near the staircase.

"Left the house late for his meeting and now he's home late for dinner. He might be my blood relative, but he definitely takes after you, Barry."

"Good!" comes the disembodied voice of his uncle. "The ladies can't resist this charm."

Said "charm" soon causes a small commotion in the kitchen. Wally laughs as the sounds of pots and pans falling follow him as he races up the stairs. He can hear the amused laughter echo after him.

He reaches the second floor landing when his aunt's voice carries upstairs.

"Bart! Come set the table!"

A semi-disgruntled noise emits from behind one of the closed doors along the hallway before the door flings open and a small figure with russet hair comes darting out.

"But it's Wally's turn!" he cries in response, his voice lacking any real refusal. Upon seeing Wally, Bart sticks his tongue out in lieu of greeting.

Wally returns the sentiment and reaches out to push at Bart's shoulder, but his cousin dashes just out of reach, running downstairs without further complaint. Entering the bathroom for his shower, he winces as Bart runs to help his mother. For a skinny kid, he makes an impressive amount of noise bounding down the stairs.

* * *

Unruly curls remain plastered to the nape of his freckled neck and Wally can feel a few remnant drops of water race down his back as he passes the bowl of fried okra to his uncle.

Fresh out of the shower and with food on his plate, Wally digs into his dinner with fervor. Across from him, he can see Bart eating with equal gusto.

"So," Iris directs at Wally, mixing ranch dressing into her summer salad, "your first day of lifeguard duty! How was it?"

Swallowing hugely, Wally shrugs his shoulders before responding. "Well, technically the first day is Monday. Today we just met to go over rules and schedules and everything."

"Still, it must be nice to see everyone," Barry comments. Grinning, Wally notices that he did not take the time to swallow a mouthful of chicken before talking.

"Yeah, definitely," he agrees, nodding. Wally puts another forkful of okra into his mouth and chews contemplatively. "Well, Roy wasn't there. Apparently he's got some internship now that's a big college grad, so he can't be bothered to stick around with us."

"So have they hired someone new?" Iris asks with interest.

"Yes," Wally scowls. He glares down at his grilled chicken as though it had personally offended him. "And I think she might be evil."

"Just because she doesn't laugh at your lame jokes doesn't mean she's evil," Bart chirps, brown eyes bright with the tease.

Without any hesitation, Wally flicks a piece of chopped okra at his cousin, who dodges it easily. He takes a gulp of water, clearly ready to spit it back out at Wally when Barry's voice cuts in.

"Guys," he says warningly, holding his fork out in the clichéd "Watch yourself, mister" gesture from old television shows.

Bart swallows his water, his cheeks no longer puffed out, and he and Wally nod their compliance.

"Oh, you're so cute when you're parenting," Iris quips with delight, batting her eyes with exaggerated coquettishness at her husband.

Barry winks at her, flashing her a smile that cause Wally and Bart to pull faces.

"Blergh," Bart says with an extra shudder. Then, determined not to let the subject escape, he turns his attention back to Wally. "So this evil girl? Does she have a name? Lady Macbeth? Wednesday? Bellatrix?"

"Artemis," Wally answers, effectively cutting off Bart before he picked up any real steam.

"Huh," Bart says, picking up a piece of chicken with his fork with a satisfied expression. "I was actually sorta close."

"What makes her evil?" Barry asks too innocently to be trusted.

Wally looks at his uncle for a few seconds, trying to discern the reason behind the expression. Finding no immediate answer, he shrugs and explains, "It was a bad first impression."

"Right," Bart adds seriously. "The devil should really hide her horns upon first greeting."

Wally probably would have kicked his cousin under the table, but Barry, probably sensing a need to intervene, distracted him from his revenge.

"Just give her a chance," he tells Wally, waving his hand as if dismissing the obvious problem that is Artemis's rude first impression. "She was probably nervous meeting a bunch of people for the first time. Especially since the rest of you are already so close. It's hard to infiltrate a close group like that."

Wally chews his food slowly, turning his uncle's advice in his head. He can practically hear Dick in the back of mind saying "I told you so" on repeat. Finally with a sense of resignation, he nods in agreement. His aunt and uncle both smile at him for a moment before everyone settles back in to eating their dinner.

Then all seriousness abandons the meal as Bart starts brandishing his fork like a pitchfork and holding his fingers up to the side of his head like horns.

More than one piece of okra flies free in retaliation.

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_Please review! And remember, our hiatus is over! We made it! :)_


	4. chapter four

_Thank you all for being patient with me while I took a few days off. In case anyone is interesting, I had a wonderful weekend and am so happy that Young Justice is back!_

_**NOTE**: I am not a lifeguard. I have never been a lifeguard. I have never even been saved by a lifeguard. Any and all lifeguard duties are researched through observation, internet research, and discussion with a friend who is a lifeguard. If you are a lifeguard and you notice a mistake, please let me know. I want my writing to be as realistic as possible. :)_

_**Disclaimer**: I do not own Young Justice or The Decemberists (the title comes from their song Summersong)._

* * *

**I taste the summer on your peppery skin.**

**chapter four**

The time to give Artemis a chance comes Sunday evening when the crew meets on Justice Beach. They agreed to meet in the evening after the previous lifeguards had left so as to avoid large congestion on the beach.

Jogging down the wooden steps leading from the boardwalk to the beach, Wally's thankful to find only Kaldur and Dick waiting. Grin plastered to his freckled face, he runs the final stretch to meet his friends, small grains of sand kicking up to hit the backs of his legs

"Hey!"

His excited yell causes them both to look up from their respective stances; Dick sprawled out on the sand attaching string to a large robin-shaped kite and Kaldur standing above him, watching the process with mild curiosity on his serene features.

"Hello, Wally," Kaldur nods in greeting while Dick looks up with a frustrated expression painted on his pale face.

"Come on, my physics friend," he says to Wally, brandishing the string. "Help me get this into the sky."

Sand hot under his skin, Wally joins Dick and fiddles with the knotted string. Kaldur joins them, legs crossed and torso long as he leans forward to examine the kite more closely. The three of them pass the time appropriately, cursing at the kite when it doesn't fly and cheering when it finally stays up in the sky.

Dick is running along the shoreline, his kite trailing behind him dutifully, when Megan and Conner arrive.

"Hello everyone!" Megan cries gleefully. Her eyes positively glow when she sees Dick's kite and, after placing her picnic basket in the sand beside Kaldur, she races off to help Dick.

"Don't even think about it," Conner warns with a smirk, catching Wally mid-step as he reaches over towards the picnic basket.

"You'd deny me food? Conner, it's like you don't know me," Wally says, a hand to his forehead in wounded fashion.

"Don't keep Wally from food, but do keep him away from treacherous thresholds. Got it."

The boys turn in the direction of the voice and all thoughts of giving her a second chance fly right out of Wally's head at the sight of Artemis walking casually towards them.

"Miss me?" she greets cheekily, her angled eyes trained on Wally.

He opens his mouth to respond, but a sudden blur of auburn beside him indicates Megan has spotted Artemis as well.

"Artemis! I'm so glad you came!"

Wally can see a brief expression of apprehension on Artemis's face as she receives an armful of Megan. She wraps a single arm around the other girl tentatively, offering back a meager hug to Megan's tremendous one.

"Was there ever any doubt?" she says as Megan releases her, beaming.

"No," Wally spits out, still irked by her earlier comment. "We just hoped you wouldn't."

Megan's face twists as she glances between Wally and Artemis, and she looks as though she's about to correct Wally's statement, but Artemis wastes absolutely no time in glaring at Wally.

"Speaking of hope, I thought maybe you were an asshole as a side effect from falling on your face." She pauses for a moment, shrugging. "Guess I was wrong."

She walks past him blithely, brushing against his arm as though she couldn't even be bothered to walk around him. Blood boiling, Wally can feel his face flush with anger. He crosses his arms and glares at her back, wondering where the hell she got the impression she had to right to act this way.

Megan giggles nervously and pulls at the bottom of her pink shirt, throwing Conner a pleading look to get him to stop laughing.

"Well," she says, her efforts clearly wasted on Conner, "since Wally seems to be hungry and since you're here now, we can have our picnic!"

Some anger subsides in Wally as he watches Megan open the picnic basket and start handing out food. Elbow deep in basket, she starts pulling out sandwich after sandwich until a small pile of what smells like ham and cheese on wheat is handed to Wally.

"Thanks, babe," he says gratefully. He feels Conner kick some sand at him, but he ignores it completely as he rips the plastic wrap off the first sandwich and sinks his teeth into the soft bread blissfully.

Megan waves off his thanks and hands a few sandwiches to Dick who has suddenly appeared beside her, kite now flightless on the sand.

"I didn't know we were having a picnic," Artemis says warily, eyeing the small tray of sushi Megan gives to Kaldur. She speaks again, her voice both apologetic and defensive, "I didn't bring anything."

"Oh, that's fine! I always bring enough for everyone," Megan smiles up at her after handing Conner a hoagie. She digs around in the picnic basket again before unearthing a few more neatly wrapped sandwiches. "I wasn't sure what you liked, so I made you peanut butter and jelly sandwiches."

She holds them out easily and Wally watches as Artemis accepts them slowly, as though waiting for Megan to pull her hand away before she could actually take the food.

"I really hope you're not allergic to peanuts," Megan says worriedly. "And I also really hope you like grape jelly."

"Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are my favorite, actually," she reassures her. "And I love grape jelly." Artemis gives Megan a small smile and seems to internally debate with herself before settling down next to the other girl and unwrapping her sandwich.

A dig in his side from Dick makes Wally look over at his friend. Dick's mouth curves into a knowing smile and he gestures over to the girls as if to say, "see, she's not all fangs."

Wally just rolls his eyes and takes another bite out of his food, determinedly looking away from Artemis.

Everyone sits in the sand in a circle, eating in silence and listening to the spare other people roaming the beach with kites of their own or with metal detectors scanning over the sand. Artemis finishes eating first and she leans back on her elbows, legs spread out in front of Wally. He finds himself following the line of her long legs from the bottom of her jean shorts to the flip flips precariously hanging off her big toes.

Her voice interrupts his lazy thoughts and he nearly chokes on his sandwich.

"So, if we weren't working the tower this week, does that mean they haven't had a lifeguard yet?" She jerks her thumb behind her at the lifeguard chair on its side several yards behind them, dragged back away from the water.

"Nah, there's always lifeguards," Dick informs her, whacking Wally in the back until he stops coughing. "But it's a seasonal gig. This was the last week for the guys before us and this week we take over for the summer."

"That chair there represents that this part of the beach is a single section," Kaldur continues. "Each section of the beach has six lifeguards who alternate throughout the day. Two people work at a time and take shifts throughout the day to keep awake and focused."

"Otherwise you might start seeing sharks and UFOs," Dick comments slyly, giving Wally a wayward look behind his sunglasses.

"Seriously?" Artemis laughs, giving Wally an incredulous look.

He ignores her laughter, not willing to rise to the bait. He does shove at Dick though, who dodges the attack as if expecting it.

"You're not helping," Wally hisses, retracting his arm to fold it across his chest.

"I'm not trying to," Dick counters with a single shoulder shrug.

"What's more likely is you tune out and miss someone in distress," Conner carries on, raising an amused eyebrow at the pair.

"Yeah, that too," Dick relents, still chuckling at Wally's scowl.

Megan nods, her bangs brushing against her forehead with the movement. "Four people work throughout the day so that two people can have a day off at a time."

"Cool," Artemis nods as she mulls over the information. Seemingly satisfied with everyone's explanations, she leans her head back and lets the last bit of the evening's sun wash over her face. Her throat exposed and tendons stretched out, Wally eyes the dip of her collarbone and counts three grains of sand that have settled there.

"I thought you said you were a lifeguard before," he asks, shaking himself out his thoughts.

"Not at Justice Beach," she returns, eyes popping open at his voice. She turns her head sharply, narrowed eyes seeking him out in challenge. "Each place is different, after all."

"Dick," Megan says suddenly, "would it be all right if I tried flying your kite again?"

Dick, looking mildly disappointed that she had changed the subject so abruptly, nods. "Sure thing, Megs."

Megan stands up, brushing the sand off her legs and tossing her now-empty salad container back into the picnic basket. Gathering up the kite, she skips off towards the shoreline as they all watch her retreating form. Conner rises silently a moment later to join her.

Wally watches Artemis give Conner's backside a calculated stare before Kaldur speaks up and gets everyone's attention.

"If this is your first time at Justice Beach, where are you from?" he asks, pale eyes curious and expression genuine.

"I go to Gotham University," she answers in a roundabout way. It's not a straight answer, but Kaldur seems satisfied. Dick, however, continues to stare at her with wide blue eyes before she adds, "Sophomore."

"Nice," Dick nods in approval. He juts a thumb at his chest. "Justice Academy."

"You're still in high school?" she comments with a note of surprise.

"Senior, baby. Wally and I used to rule the school."

"Sure," she snorts, rolling her eyes and pulling herself up into a more comfortable sitting position. She pulls her ponytail in front of her and plays with the ends of her hair. "More like rule the AV Club."

"Matheletes, actually," Dick corrects with a shake of his finger. "That's where it's at."

"_You_ were in Matheletes," Wally comments, feeling a need to clarify. "_I_ ran track."

"Yeah, not dorky at all," Dick jokes, gathering up trash to put in the picnic basket.

Artemis hands him her plastic wrap before turning a questioning eye to Wally.

"So, _used_ to go to Justice Academy? Where has our beautiful mind decided to go now?" she asks, tossing her hair behind her and leaning forward, resting her elbow on her knee and her chin against her fist.

"I'll be a sophomore at Stanford."

He feels a surprisingly overwhelming surge of self-satisfaction when he sees her impressed expression.

"Swanky," she admits. She leans over towards Kaldur, looking at his remaining sushi with interest. "How about you, Kaldur?"

"I will be entering my senior year at Atlanta University," he answers, holding his tray out to her in wordless offering.

"That's pretty far from here," she says, carefully selecting a single piece. She eyes it all over before shrugging to herself and popping it into her mouth.

"I am from a small town near Atlanta, but during my parents' divorce, they deemed it necessary for me to be kept from the heat of their arguments. It was agreed that I would attend school elsewhere," Kaldur speaks slowly and Artemis looks momentarily stricken.

"I'm sorry, I just-"

"It is fine," he assures her with a warm smile. "It worked out for the best and I enjoyed attending school with Dick and Wally."

She returns his smile, holding his pale gaze for a moment before glancing over at Conner and Megan. Conner seems to have managed to get the kite back in the air and Megan is clapping beside him, face split in a wide grin.

"Did Conner and Megan go there, too?"

"Nah," Dick answers, shaking his head. "Megs is from Kansas or something like that. She wanted to be near the water, so she's going to the local university. She and Conner met there. I think they'll both be juniors."

"Speaking of which," Artemis asks, still eyeing Conner with obvious interest, "what's the deal with Mister Muscles?"

"He's dating Miss Megan, if that's what you mean," Dick clarifies, giving Wally a sideways smirk.

The corners of her mouth pull downwards for a moment as she continues to watch the pair guide the kite through the air. "Cute."

"They're very happy together," Wally snaps, forcing her attention away from the couple.

"I just asked," she exasperates. Her eyes spark at him and her mouth twists unpleasantly at his unspoken accusation. "I'm not going to cause any problems. The girl made me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, for Pete's sake."

"Good," he shoots back. "We just don't need anyone coming around and messing things up more than they already have."

Artemis seems to recognize the dig for what it is and her mouth opens and shuts quickly as she thinks over whatever her possible comeback might have been. Instead, she gives him a cool look, eyelashes lowered and lips pursed.

"Oh, go fly a kite," she tells him bitingly, a single eyebrow raised.

Kaldur nearly chokes on his food and Dick just laughs.

"Told you she'd fit in."

Wally is less than amused.

* * *

Wally arrives back at his aunt and uncle's house a few hours later, closing the door behind him with a _click_. He turns around to see his aunt and uncle sitting together on the couch, the news muted on the television in front of them.

"So," Barry grins, "was it as bad as you thought it'd be?"

Wally opens his mouth to snap about Artemis's attitude and her snide comments, but the sudden memory of Artemis smiling at Megan and sharing sushi with Kaldur and her expression when he told her about Stanford changes his mind.

Instead, he mouths wordlessly for a moment before muttering something about it being an okay time.

He walks upstairs, taking the steps two at a time, and misses the amused look shared between his aunt and uncle.

* * *

_Please review!_


	5. chapter five

_Remember when I said there'd be summer tropes? Well, ladies and gents, here we are. :) Please enjoy and thank you all so much for reading!_

_**NOTE**: I am not a lifeguard. I have never been a lifeguard. I have never even been saved by a lifeguard. Any and all lifeguard duties are researched through observation, internet research, and discussion with a friend who is a lifeguard. If you are a lifeguard and you notice a mistake, please let me know. I want my writing to be as realistic as possible. :)_

_**Disclaimer**: I do not own Young Justice or The Decemberists (the title comes from their song Summersong)._

* * *

**I taste the summer on your peppery skin.**

**chapter five**

The next day, Wally walks into The Cave in time for his afternoon shift. As soon as he opens the door, Artemis turns from where she's standing at the cubbies, pushing a small canvas bag into the one with her name above it.

She watches him step over the threshold with an amused look dancing in her eyes and Wally is suddenly painfully reminded of his fall. However, he walks into the hut without problem, staring at her as if daring her to make a comment.

He is strangely disappointed when she fails to make any sort of jab.

"Morning," she says simply, stepping away from the cubbies to give him some room.

"Actually," he comments, pulling his cellphone out of his trunks to check the time. A digital blue screen tells him it's 12:51. "It's the afternoon now." He looks at her smartly, tossing his phone and bag into his own cubby.

"Don't be that asshole, Wally," she warns with her hands on her hips. She holds his glare for a moment before sighing and looking anywhere but at his face. "Look," she finally relents, glaring at the cobwebbed corner of the hut behind him, "we have the next four hours to deal with each other. Let's not make this more painful that it has to be."

"Fine."

He thrusts out a hand in truce and watches her eye it suspiciously before clapping her own hand into his. The strength of her grip does not surprise him at all, but the calluses he can feel on the tips of her fingers do.

They let go after a single, quick shake and then head out the door. He locks it behind them and follows her as she leads the way down the steps and across the sand. Idly, he notes that her hair is braided today instead of her usual ponytail.

Weaving their way through brightly colored umbrellas and half-formed sandcastles, they reach the chair and greet Kaldur and Megan.

"Wow, is it one already?" Megan asks, shielding her eyes against the sun as she looks down at them.

"Sure is, sweet cheeks," Wally answers, winking.

He can sense Artemis tense next to him, but true to their attempt to keep things civil, she doesn't say anything. Megan, on the other hand, chuckles good-naturedly and hops down the lifeguard chair with nimble ease. Kaldur jumps down and lands catlike on the sand, his angled features shiny with sweat.

"Thank you, friends," he tells them, clapping a hand to Wally's shoulder and nodding to Artemis. They wave as he walks towards The Cave and Megan soon joins him.

"Have fun, you guys!" she calls out over her shoulder, tugging her sundress on over her swimsuit.

Wally smiles after her for a moment before climbing up the side of the chair. He reaches the top before Artemis does and leans over the side to offer her a hand.

"No thanks, _sweet cheeks_," she snarks as she pushes it aside, opting instead to pull herself up.

He snatches his hand back, wondering why he even bothered. He watches out of the side of his eye as she manages to plop herself down in the space beside him.

"Sweet cheeks," she laughs to herself before turning her attention to Wally. She waits until he eventually gives in to her stare to look at her before she speaks. "Do girls actually fall for that in good ol' Stanford?"

"All the time, babe," he replies, folding his hands behind his head with practiced ease. He gives her his most winning smile, only to see her roll her eyes in response.

"Oh, what a stud," she coos, her hand coming up to rest on her chest in mock adoration.

Then with a huffy sigh, the doting expression slides off her face. She pulls her over-sized shirt off in a seamless arch over her head to reveal her uniform-red bathing suit underneath. Rolling up the discarded shirt, she tucks it behind her to make a small cushion at the small of her back. Wally swallows hugely, eying the contrast of her olive skin against the red appreciatively.

Refusing to let her see him staring at her bathing suit, Wally snaps his attention to the ocean. He scans over the bobbing heads in the water, taking special note of clusters of people together. A few small children stand at the water's edge, shrieking with glee as the waves reach out to them, jumping up and splashing in the water as it retreats back.

Beside him, Artemis starts lathering sunscreen over her legs and arms, her movements quick and efficient. He leans forward to put her completely out of his vision, ignoring her in favor of looking out over the ocean. The waves are small today, foretelling a mostly boring day of lifeguard duty.

A few moments later, Artemis starts squirming beside him. He nearly jumps when her hip bumps into his, and he moves his head to look over his shoulder at her. Her arms are awkwardly attempting to smear sunscreen onto her back, one elbow bent towards the sky and the other perpendicular to her ribcage.

"Wow," he remarks sarcastically before he can even stop himself, "that looks super effective."

"Shut it, West," she drawls. She shifts her arms around, nearly elbowing him in the process. "I got sunburn when we were all hanging out yesterday and I don't want it to get worse."

Wally gives her his best incredulous look, leaning back to keep an eye on both her and the people in the ocean.

"We were there at sundown," he reminds her. "How did you get burnt?"

"Look," she snaps, hands coming down from their strained position to rest tensely at her sides, "I refuse to be made fun of for my sunburn by the pasty kid with freckles."

She gives his freckles a contemptuous look, which Wally thinks is overly ridiculous because they're only freckles and they never did anything to hurt her. Clearly, he decides, she is beyond reason, so he leans against the back of the chair and looks out over the water.

Artemis watches him a few seconds longer before going back to her task of wiggling her fingers against her back, failing spectacularly at rubbing the lotion into her skin.

Wally counts backwards from ten twice before sighing loudly.

"Just give me the damn bottle already," he demands, hand outstretched towards her.

She pulls it away from him, but he's too quick for her. He snatches it out of her hand and pours a glob onto his palms before dropping the sunscreen between them. He motions to her that she should angle herself away from him, which she does with stiff movements as though pained by what's about to happen. She pulls her braid over one side of her face to give him an unimpeded expanse of skin.

Hesitating only once, he leans forward to rub the sunscreen over her back. Her skin is warm to his touch, and he's surprised by how much darker her skin looks in comparison to his hand. His fingers look like fireworks splayed out against her back, the tips of his fingers running over a few raised moles along her shoulder blade. He slips under the straps of her bathing suit, smearing the skin beneath it with lotion, and he prays she doesn't kill him.

She doesn't even comment on it, only remains motionless as he rubs the last bit of lotion into the back of her neck with downy soft blonde hairs brushing against his knuckles.

"There," he finally says. And with that single word, it's like all of a sudden, someone turned up the volume and he's aware of every person talking, every kid laughing. Wally pulls away jerkily and leans back once more.

"Thanks," Artemis says shortly. She mimics his position, leaning against the back of the chair with her arms crossed over her chest.

They both stare out in mutual silence before she clears her throat.

"Uh, do you need any sunscreen?" Her gray eyes flicker towards him before staring back out at a huddle of kids splashing at each other.

"I'm good," he answers immediately, his words nearly overlapping hers.

The tight line of her shoulders relax and she settles down more securely.

"Good."

"Good," he repeats lamely.

She doesn't tease him for it though, instead crossing her arms more tightly against her chest and staring determinedly out across the horizon.

Wally follows suit and spends the next four hours waiting for the burn to leave his fingertips.

* * *

_Please review!_


	6. chapter six

_Thank you so much to everyone who reads, reviews, favorites, alerts, anything. You're all very wonderful and I hope you enjoy this next installment!_

_**NOTE**: I am not a lifeguard. I have never been a lifeguard. I have never even been saved by a lifeguard. Any and all lifeguard duties are researched through observation, internet research, and discussion with a friend who is a lifeguard. If you are a lifeguard and you notice a mistake, please let me know. I want my writing to be as realistic as possible. :)_

_**Disclaimer**: I do not own Young Justice or The Decemberists (the title comes from their song Summersong)._

* * *

**I taste the summer on your peppery skin.**

**chapter six**

The rest of the week goes without incident.

Which is why it should be no surprise whatsoever when he is woken up Friday morning, his day off, by his buzzing cell phone.

He reaches over sleepily and nudges aside the endless amounts of candy wrappers from his bedside table before he can grip his phone. Shielding his eyes against the ungodly bright screen of his phone, he squints at the message from Megan.

_Meet today at 2 at the beach? Conner and Dick are working, but we can hang out nearby._

Sometimes her text speak, or rather lack thereof, is cute and charming, but today Wally just grunts tiredly and slugs his fingers across the keypad to send her an affirmative answer.

_K. cu there._

Wally spends the next hour laying in bed, trying to figure out the best way to conBart into making breakfast. The odds, he realizes, are not very good.

* * *

"Wally!"

His head turns at the sound of his name, the pitch of Megan's voice carrying over the crowd's noise with ease. Grinning widely, he waves to acknowledge that he's heard her and starts racing over towards his friends.

As he jogs, he wonders why it took him so long to find them in the first place. Artemis's hair shines like a beacon under the garishly bright sunshine.

Sand hot against his feet, Wally hurries to the girls who then lead him down a winding path of umbrellas and scattered towels until they reach her own floral print umbrella just behind the lifeguard chair.

Dick and Conner crane their necks over the side to greet Wally. Wally nods back, grateful to get to their umbrella. The shade is infinitely cooler against his soles and he kicks off his sandals, wiggling his toes appreciatively.

Megan smiles up at him from her newly settled spot on her coral towel as she pats the ground beside her. He takes her up on her invitation and sits down as she starts speaking.

"Artemis and I were working together this morning and we thought it would be nice to spend some time with everyone again."

Something doesn't commute in Wally's head as he thinks about "Artemis" and "nice" in the same sentence.

"I know the boys are working and that it's yours and Kaldur's day off, but I figured I'd ask," Megan continues, as eager to please as ever.

A new shadow drapes over Wally's legs and he looks up, squinting, to see Kaldur standing dark and tall over him.

"Thank you for considering us, Megan," he says sincerely. He then looks out to the water before asking, "Would anyone care to join me in the ocean?"

The three decline, each stating that it's too crowded at the moment. Kaldur nods understandingly, but apparently the crowds of people do not deter him. Moments later, he is waist-deep in ocean water, calmly wading over the waves.

"Come on," Megan cries with a clap of her hands, "let's make a sandcastle!"

Without waiting for Artemis or Wally's reaction, she reaches behind herself to grab the buckets Wally recognizes from The Cave. Apparently, the girls had brought them out for their day at the beach.

As Megan heads to the ocean to fill her buckets, Artemis strips off her oversized shirt to reveal her usual denim shorts and a hunter green halter bathing suit top.

As she turns to toss her shirt on the ground, Wally can actually feel his jaw drop.

From somewhere above him, Wally vaguely registers a low whistle.

"Killer abs, Arty!" Dick comments because he's a little shit and he knows exactly how to make Wally feel entirely uncomfortable.

"Thanks," she grins, eyes skimming over Wally to flash at Dick. "I'm part of the weight training team at my school. And the archery team," she adds, a genuinely pride note mixed in with her previously haughty tone.

"Oh," Dick says innocently, turning in the chair so that he can face her better. "So you're like Cupid?"

"He's a fat baby with a penchant for hearts. So, no," Artemis deadpans, hips cocked the side and hand angled against the bone protruding just slightly above the waistline of her shorts.

"You seem like you'd be the type to aim for the eye, not the heart," Wally comments, the corner of his mouth curling upward.

"Of course," Artemis remarks, looking him straight on. She smiles at him and he's again noticing how sharp her teeth can be. "It's less messy that way."

Dick's cackle echoes above them, and they both leap back a little. Wally hadn't realized they had both stepped forward in their exchange.

"Shouldn't you be focused?" he reminds Dick with mild irritation.

Dick laughs again, but otherwise turns around without a further comment. Artemis and Wally exchange a glance before turning towards the patch of sand Megan had deemed acceptable for their sandcastle.

Artemis settles down to start leveling the base for the castle as Megan returns with her buckets, water sloshing out over the sides. She's radiating a sense of fun and happiness and it must be contagious because Wally starts grinning beside her. Megan makes the initial groupings of where the base of the castle would be and each tower, but it's not long before Wally and Artemis start besting each other to take control.

"You have to distribute the weight more evenly," he chides her, taking the wet sand-filled bucket from her hands to keep her from adding any more support to the east-end of the castle.

"Well, no shit," Artemis replies with a roll of her eyes. She makes grabby hands at the bucket, glaring at Wally until he relents and hands it to her. "But if we keep everything perfectly even, we won't have towers. And what's a castle without towers?"

With that, she scoops a handful of sand out of the bucket and plopped it down with a satisfying thump.

"Yes, but if it's too heavy in the middle, we can't build a tunnel under it," Wally explains slowly as though he's talking to a small child.

"A tunnel?" Megan looked up questioningly from where she had been picking small seashells out of the sand. "Don't most castles have moats?"

"Yes," Wally nods sagely. "But ours will have a tunnel. That's what makes it so special."

"The sandcastle won't fall in on itself?" Artemis questions. Her sandy hands brush loose hair from the sides of her face, leaving grains of sand along the swell of her cheek.

"Not if we do the tunnel my way," Wally answers her, boastfully. "Which is to say, not if we do the tunnel right."

He leans forward to tap the tip of her nose, but yanks his hand away as she snaps her teeth at his finger. He glares at her, but the effect is somewhat ruined by the smile still stained on his face.

"You know," Megan says abruptly, causing both Wally and Artemis to look over at her with surprise. Her hazel eyes glance back and forth with a grin growing on her face.. "I just remembered. I have to go get something out of The Cave."

She stands up so quickly, little grains of sand fly up in her wake and fall back down against Wally's freckled arm.

"Okay," they both call out after her, but she's already bounding away from them.

Wally returns his attention to their castle, deciding the best place to start the tunnel.

"Why do you call it The Cave?" Artemis asks, still watching Megan as the older girl sidesteps a group of teenagers playing volleyball.

Wally thinks for a moment before shrugging.

"You know, I'm not totally sure. Roy and Kaldur called it that since before the rest of us were lifeguards." He looks up from the sandcastle to face Artemis. She's still looking at him as though expecting a better answer and he shrugs again. "It's just our place, I guess. Our base of operations."

She nods, accepting that answer. "That's... nice," she comments, "having a place."

He gives her a strange look, but she doesn't say anything further and he drops the subject. They spend the next few minutes in relative silence, sculpting tiny towers and turrets. Artemis starts attaching small sea shells to the tops of the towers as pretend flags and adornments as Wally repositions himself to his hands and knees to start digging under the castle.

"Here," he suggests, "you start on the other end and we'll meet in the middle. Dig deep enough to feel the wet sand. That'll give more support for the castle."

Artemis nods and moves directly across from him, her position mirroring his own. They make silent work of it, the sand scratching against their scraping fingernails. Wally can feel it caking under his nails with childish glee. He's always thought there was something oddly therapeutic about the sand.

A few moments later, he can feel Artemis's scraping through the sand until their fingers break through the barrier. Her fingers scratch against his for a moment and, without even thinking about it, Wally catches her pinky between his index finger and thumb.

Their eyes catch over the top of the highest tower and they both extract their hands quickly. Wally immediately brings his hand to the back of his neck, trying to rub away his blush.

"So," he says, drawing out the vowel as if to distract them both from that moment of indiscretion.

"What?" she asks, eyebrows furrowing together.

He narrows his eyes in challenge, bring his hand away from his neck to fold his arms across his chest.

"Say it."

"Say what?"

"You know."

Arms still crossed, he nods to their castle, still standing with the wind blowing tiny grains of sand through their newly formed tunnel.

Artemis looks down at it contemplatively and then, with a reluctant sigh, looks at Wally.

"Okay, I'll admit," she says, opting to stare at his hairline as if admitting it to his face was too difficult. "This is a decent tunnel."

"And?" he prompted, smiling expectantly.

"And the castle didn't fall in on itself," she drones, eyes shut against to block out his know-it-all expression.

"I am a physics major, babe. What do you expect?"

She opens one eye at "babe," giving him an exaggeratingly disgusted expression. Then she opens both eyes to look at him teasingly.

"This is what they teach you at that fancy school of yours?" she asks, flicking bits of sand at him off the tip of her thumb.

"Yeah," he nods, buffing his fingernails against the worn cotton of his shirt. "I took Sandcastles 101 my freshman year."

She actually laughs at that, not a scoff or a laugh at his expense, but a real laugh. Her lips pull back so he can see more gum than tooth, and he's surprised to find how much he likes it. He looks at her a little more wide-eyed, the smile on his face suddenly warmer and more open.

"Impressive, Wall-man," she grants him. "Certainly impressive."

Above their heads, Wally can hear Dick snort.

"Doesn't aim for the heart, my ass."

* * *

_Please review!_


	7. chapter seven

_As always, thank you to everyone reading! I especially appreciate those who take the time to leave a review. I really love talking to you guys and hearing what you have to say about the chapters. I'm really flattered by your comments. :) Thank you so much!_

_**NOTE**: I am not a lifeguard. I have never been a lifeguard. I have never even been saved by a lifeguard. Any and all lifeguard duties are researched through observation, internet research, and discussion with a friend who is a lifeguard. If you are a lifeguard and you notice a mistake, please let me know. I want my writing to be as realistic as possible. :)_

_**Disclaimer**: I do not own Young Justice or The Decemberists (the title comes from their song Summersong)._

* * *

**I taste the summer on your peppery skin.**

**chapter seven**

The next morning, Artemis is already waiting for Wally by the overturned chair in their section of the beach. She's leaning against one of the pillars, looking out at the ocean and Wally chuckles to himself, thinking about how she looks like the cover of a CD or, when the wind blows, the cover of a trashy summer novel. He wonders if he should tell her that or if she would just push him off the top of the chair, point-blank.

He heads over to her, amused by these thoughts. She sees the smile on his face and instantly scowls, hands automatically going to her waist.

"What?" she asks, accusingly. The glint in her eyes is enough to convince him not to tell her his thoughts.

"Nothing," he responds easily, walking to the other side of the chair.

She gives him a raised eyebrow, but leaves the matter as it is. Together, they brace their shoulders against the chair and push it closer to the water, occasionally calling out to the early beach-goers to move aside. Once they are closer to the shore line, Wally nods to Artemis and they both slow down to a halt. Gripping the handles on either side, they walk to chair to its upright position and let the weight of it settle down into the sand.

Artemis pulls a piece of chalk out of her canvas bag and aims to start writing out the day's statistics on the blackboard.

"I'll write it," Wally offers, "I write faster."

"True," she agrees before tossing her head at him in a superior smile, "but I write neater."

Wally considers countering back, but she really does have a point. Whenever he writes out the temperature, people seem confused about the nature of the numbers. Instead, he heads back to where the tower had been and grabs the green flags.

By the time he's done pushing the green flags into the sand and thereby opening up the swimming area, Artemis has already perched herself up on the chair, her usual t-shirt already pulled off. The morning sun backlights her and stray pieces of hair not caught up in her braid are highlighted gold.

He smiles to himself before clutching at the sides of the chair, climbing his way up to her.

"Again with that smile," she remarks, one eyebrow raised at his expression. She sits with one leg crossed over at the knee, arms resting in her lap.

"You sit on the chair like it's a throne," he teases, settling down and bumping his shoulder against hers.

"I'm one of a kind," she scoffs haughtily, pushing back at him with calloused fingertips that leave burning marks against his arm. "This chair should be honored to have my ass sit on it."

"If you say so, your highness."

Then she uncrosses her legs, stretching the leg closest to Wally out to its fullest extent, her toes pointed towards the water. He sees a flash of sparkle and notices her toenails are freshly painted a glittery green.

"Wouldn't have taken you as a pedicure kind of girl," he comments, nodding towards her exposed feet.

She glances down, confused for a moment as if she had forgotten she had painted her toenails.

"Oh," she says, her mouth forming a small circle around the word. "Megan and I had a sleepover last night."

A sudden image of a pillow fight in their underwear enters his mind unbidden, but he bites his tongue from saying anything. He eyes the well-defined muscles on her arms apprehensively, not really wanting to take his chances.

Something in her jaw clenches as she stares at him for a long moment, and Wally assumes she can probably guess at what he was thinking. But he smiles innocently enough at her, and Artemis, without any proof his lewd thoughts, continues talking.

"After you left yesterday for dinner, Megan invited me over." Artemis shrugs casually, her shoulders rolling back under the straps of her bathing suit.

"Yeah, that's all very well and good. Megan's been waiting for a girl in our group for as long as I've known her," Wally concedes, nodding. He glances back at her toenails before raising his eyebrows at her. "But glittery green?"

"I like green, Megan likes glitter," Artemis answers simply, curling her toes inward to keep them away from Wally's gaze. She gives him a look that demands an end to the conversation before turning her attention back out on the rapidly filling ocean.

Wally lets the conversation drop, and a comfortable silence settles around them as they listen to the beach grow more crowded.

Artemis eventually uncurls her toes and Wally can see out of the corner of his eyes another flash of green. She wiggles them discreetly in the summer light, quietly admiring how they catch the light. Her eyes and mouth grow a little softer each time, and Wally can tell she likes it more than she's letting on.

He maybe smiles, but he certainly doesn't let her see.

* * *

_Please review!_


	8. chapter eight

_You guys are really great. Especially my lovely reviewers! You are so loyal, reviewing every chapter and just basically being wonderful all over the place. Thank you so much for taking the time! Please enjoy this next installment!_

_**NOTE**: I am not a lifeguard. I have never been a lifeguard. I have never even been saved by a lifeguard. Any and all lifeguard duties are researched through observation, internet research, and discussion with a friend who is a lifeguard. If you are a lifeguard and you notice a mistake, please let me know. I want my writing to be as realistic as possible. :)_

_**Disclaimer**: I do not own Young Justice or The Decemberists (the title comes from their song Summersong)._

* * *

**I taste the summer on your peppery skin.**

**chapter eight**

"Welcome home, my weary worker," Barry greets the moment Wally opens the door.

"Hey, Uncle Barry," he returns happily. He glances around the room curiously, noticing that Bart's shoes aren't by the stairs and that his aunt's keys are not in the bowl on the table next to the door. "Where is everyone?" he questions, craning his neck to see if they are maybe hiding in the kitchen.

Barry slumps over on the couch in full theatrics, pressing a pillow to his face as though hiding from the fate of the cruel world.

"My family has abandoned me," he bemoans, his voice muffled through the kitschy flamingo-print pillow. "I must now fend for myself."

"Careful not to cut your tongue when you're chewing through canned peas," Wally advises, walking around the side of the couch to smirk down at his uncle.

Barry pulls the pillow away from his face to give Wally a look that makes his resemblance to Bart instantly apparent. "Such a funny guy," he frowns, before sighing and pulling himself back into a sitting position. "Anyway, Bart has shanghaied his friend Jaime so they're God knows where, and your beautiful aunt is working late today. It's just you and me, Kid."

The use of his old nickname makes Wally grin at his uncle. Barry smiles lopsidedly as he stands up to stretch.

"Come on," he says suddenly, eyes bright when he turns to face his nephew, "we haven't gone for a run together in a while."

Wally instantly perks up and he races into the kitchen to grab water bottles out of the fridge without a second thought.

* * *

Barry leads the way down their favorite pathway, a winding trail in the briny woods behind their neighborhood. Wally looks at the trees dashing past him, the roots sticking out of the sand in a way he's never seen anywhere else. The sunlight falls dappled down onto the path stretched out before them and the scent of summer is heavy in the air. Adrenaline starts to course through his veins on their second lap around and Wally thinks this might be his favorite place in the world.

Barry's voice breaks comfortably into the companionable silence that had fallen between them.

"So how was work?"

"Pretty decent," Wally gasps. "I got to work with Dick, so no complaints." He listens for a moment to the steady, off-beat pattern of their feet against the sandy ground before smirking at the memory of the day's events. "Apparently Megan and Conner had a minor rescue this morning. 'Cept, it's up for debate about whether the kid really needed help or if he just wanted Meg to save him. If the latter was the case, the guy was probably disappointed 'cause Conner was the one to drag him out of the water instead."

Barry huffs out a laugh, and Wally turns with sweat dripping down his face to grin at his uncle. Barry catches his eye and holds a hand out, wordlessly telling Wally to slow down.

The pair slow their pace from a jog to a casual walk, both taking identical swigs of their water bottles. For a moment, Wally is reminded of himself when he was younger, mimicking everything his favorite uncle did.

"You know, Kid," Barry says, wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand. "I'm real proud of the work you and your friends do down at the beach. Whether or not that kid was really in any distress, it was still good that you guys were there to help him."

Wally nods, thinking to when he arrived at the beach that afternoon to find paperwork on the desk in The Cave. Megan had given an oral report to him and Dick when they arrived for their shift. She told the story efficiently and without grand storytelling, but Wally didn't miss the proud look she gave Conner when she finished.

What he told Dick a few weeks ago is true. He's over Megan. Moreover, he's happy that she and Conner have found each other. But watching them leave the beach hand in hand had given him a strange flip in his stomach and he wishes he understood why.

He doesn't know the expression pulling at his face, but a small cough from his uncle calls his attention back to their walk in the woods.

"So how're things with Little Miss Evil?" Barry asks, running a hand through his sweat-slicked blonde hair.

"Uh, fine," Wally shrugs. He takes another gulp of water with droplets sliding past the corner of his mouth, the cool wetness welcome against his flushed skin. "She works well with the rest of us."

He looks at the water droplets collecting on the outside of his water bottle, brushing them with his thumb.

"Megan seems to really like her," he continues because he feels like there's something more he needs to say, but he can't figure out what it is.

"And you?" Barry prompts, his boxy jaw set curiously as he eyes Wally.

Wally doesn't really know what to say, so he settles on a the most basic of phrases.

"Eh, she's okay."

"Fair enough," Barry nods, apparently content with the easy answer. He presses his bottle to his lips, chugging down the last bit of water before grinning impishly at Wally.

Wally recognizes his expression a split second before Barry shouts out.

"Race you home!"

Not waiting even a moment for Wally's response, Barry dashes forward. Wally yelps at the back of his red shirt, a scarlet blur speeding away from him, and he leans in forward to chase after his uncle, grinning wildly.

He probably won't win the race, but he's sure as hell going to try his damndest.

* * *

_Please review!_


	9. chapter nine

_As a reminder, I am not a lifeguard. Hopefully this is not horrifically incorrect. With the exception of cringing with lifeguard mistakes, I hope you enjoy this!_

_**NOTE**: I am not a lifeguard. I have never been a lifeguard. I have never even been saved by a lifeguard. Any and all lifeguard duties are researched through observation, internet research, and discussion with a friend who is a lifeguard. If you are a lifeguard and you notice a mistake, please let me know. I want my writing to be as realistic as possible. :)_

_**Disclaimer**: I do not own Young Justice or The Decemberists (the title comes from their song Summersong)._

* * *

**I taste the summer on your peppery skin.**

**chapter nine**

"'Bout time," Conner smirks as Wally jogs over. He's standing beside the lifeguard chair, resting against it, arms crossed and one leg bent at the knee for his foot to rest flat against a vertical beam.

"Told you he's always late," comes Artemis's raspy voice, disembodied on top of the chair.

"I'm not late!" he sputters indignantly as Conner raises a single thick eyebrow in disbelief. "I'm on time. You're just always freakishly early."

Wally can hear Artemis shift in her seat as she stage-whispers conspiratorially to Conner.

"Told you he's difficult."

Conner's smirk deepens as he kicks off the lifeguard chair and starts to walk away. Before he goes, he slaps a high-five with Wally, who instantly regrets that decision. His palm stings from the harsh contact as he pulls himself up the chair.

"God, West, you take forever," Artemis drones from the top of the chair. He can see her legs, long and crossed, twitch on the front end of the chair.

"Such a sweet girl," Wally mutters quietly to himself, smiling inexplicably.

Either she doesn't hear him or she doesn't respond to his comment so that when he hoists himself into his seat, she only gives him a passing glance.

He lets himself look over at her, his eyes sweeping over the slope of her nose and the curve of her head,

"Ooh, a ponytail today," he comments with exaggerated enthusiasm,

"What?" she asks, looking at him with her thin nose scrunched in confusion. Wally reaches over to twirl the very tip of her ponytail over his finger. "Oh yeah," she says, snatching the ponytail out of his reach and draping it over her shoulder away from him. She faces him, face twisted defensively. "So?"

"Nothing," he tells her honestly before looking out over the ocean. He's quiet for a moment before blurting out, "You just normally have your hair braided."

Wally doesn't turn his head, but out of the corner of his eyes, he sees her turn in her seat to face him full on.

"You really notice that?" she asks, her voice a notch quieter than before. It only just carries over the water's wind blowing over them.

"I'm a scientist, babe," he chuckles, flickering his gaze over to her long enough to wink. "It's my job to notice."

"Ugh, geek," she sighs, with a surprising note of fondness.

He doesn't look away from the ocean as he smirks, watching out of the corner of his eye as she uncrosses and crosses her legs again. And as he looks out on the horizon, he thinks about all the other things he's noticed about her. All these little details, cataloguing each fact away for some reason he can't quite figure out. The way she looks away when she has to tell someone something she doesn't want to say, the hairline scar on the inside of her left elbow, the way her eyes are the exact color of the sea on stormy days.

All the tiny details that make up Artemis, the confusing muddle of snark and laughter and something that sparks in his system.

He's so entranced with his thoughts that her voice comes from a long way away, tone level and somewhat awed.

"It's hellish today," she murmurs, her mouth barely moving, her lower lip caught between her teeth.

"Who's the observant one now?" he teases in her direction. But as he stares out over the water, he becomes more serious.

The tide is higher today in a way that it isn't normally and the murky color makes it hard for anyone in the water to see more than a few inches deep. The waves are choppy and inconsistent, a better day than waves that roll in high and constant. But each wave is spread out enough so that when the waves finally do crash in, the swimmers are caught off guard.

The afternoon passes slowly, as Wally and Artemis keep their eyes trained on the ever moving water before them. They talk sparingly, keeping their conversations limited to a sarcastic jab at each other's disposition or casual remark about the weather before them. Artemis blows her whistle no less than three times, reminding everyone in the water to stay closer to the shoreline.

It's nearly an hour before the end of their session, and Wally is reluctant to think that the worst is over. Eager as he is for their day to end, he refuses to let himself relax. Instead, he trains his gaze over the individual heads of people in the water, silently counting each person and keeping a mental log of their position.

And that's when it comes.

The makings of a wave grow speed and momentum several yards away from the person furthest out. He can see it rise higher above sea level than the others before it until it begins curling in on itself.

He can feel Artemis tense beside him as they watch the wave crash, the slap of water on water resounding like thunder in the briny air. The foam dissipates and one by one, heads break through the surface with hands quickly sweeping soaking hair away from their dripping faces.

Wally keeps his eyes trained on the northern quadrant, waiting breathlessly for a small blonde girl to reemerge. He counts the seconds, one, two, three, before all he sees are legs sputtering out over the surface. They don't kick, just move in the currents before slipping back underwater.

"Shit," Wally hisses, faster than Artemis to grab the rescue tube secured to the chair behind them. "Look out!" he cries, hoisting himself down the chair, jumping the last few feet.

People stare at him, surprised and confused, but thankfully edging out his beeline path for the little girl. His feet meet the water and he doesn't even spare a second thought at the sudden chillness he can feel splashing against his skin. As soon as he's waist-deep in the water, he pushes himself horizontal against the current, eyes not moving from the spot where he last spotted the girl's legs.

Dimly, he's aware of Artemis blowing her whistle, calling all swimmers out of the water completely.

Adrenaline racing, he strokes broad sweeps through the ocean until he finally sees her. Facedown in the now settled ocean, she floats to the surface, her shoulders bobbing in the slow motion of the water. Wally squints his eyes against the burn of the salt water, refusing to let any fear grip his heart.

When he reaches the girl several seconds later, legs kicking madly beneath him, he rolls her carefully onto the rescue tube so that her mouth and nose are unimpeded. Once out of the water, he watches large green eyes so close in color to his own open blurrily.

"Hey, hi," he says as calmly as he can, fixing a concentrated smile on her. He stares deep in her eyes, wordlessly pleading with her to stay focused on him. "Can you hear me, sweetheart?"

Dazed, she blinks up at him and coughs wetly, spraying his chin with tiny droplets. "Yeah," she responds in a thin, choked voice.

"Great," he tells her, smile growing wider with encouragement. He gestures down to the red rescue tube she's half-draped over. "I want you to hold on tight for me, okay?"

She nods, her neck loose with the movement and Wally finds himself nearly overwhelmed with the relief that there are no immediate neck problems. He waits until she's tucked herself a little tighter onto the rescue tube before he readjusts the strap more securely to his side. Leading her out of the water, Wally keeps half an eye behind them to make sure another wave doesn't come along and take them both out.

"Don't let go," the girl mutters flatly, eyes still glazed over.

"I won't, sweetheart, I promise."

They swim back to the coast, Wally constantly making sure her nose and mouth stay above the water at all times. Once they reach shallow waters, he holds her against him until she proves to him that she can stand with his support. She takes shaky steps out of the water, her weight warm and heavy against him until they make it to the sand and she slumps over tiredly.

"You still with me?" Wally asks as he crouches beside her, legs covered in sand and heart racing like it's about to burst out of his chest.

"Yeah," she says again, her voice still flat with shock. She doesn't even move the haphazard strands of blonde hair sticking to her face.

"Okay, what's your name?" he prompts, scanning her over for any obvious injuries. Her forehead is bright red with sand rash, but otherwise she seems fine.

"Perdita."

"That's a very pretty name, Perdita," he smiles at her. "My name's Wally. Are you here with anyone or are you at the beach by yourself?"

"I'm here with my uncle." She looks around confusedly at the small group of people looking on with avid interest. He nearly growls in their direction, but refuses to let Perdita see anything but comfort and encouragement. "I don't see him," she continues, a hint of worry mixed in with the sluggishness.

"It's fine, it's fine," he assures her, not wanting her to move her head unnecessarily until he was sure she hadn't received too severe an injury. "I'm sure he's here."

Perdita nods once, finally reaching up to brush the hair off her cheeks. Clumsily, she rubs at her eyes and touches her forehead gingerly.

"I hit my head," she looks up vaguely at Wally, eyes not quite meeting his.

"It was probably a sandbar," he guesses, glancing again at the barely bleeding rash along the curve of her forehead. "This happens sometimes." He waits until she looks convinced before repositioning himself in front of her, preparing to test her for a concussion.

With a hand on her shoulder to keep her steady, he says, "Okay, I need you to do me a favor. Can you follow my finger?" He holds up his index finger before her face. "Don't nod, just tell me yes or no."

"Yes," she tells him, eyes glassy but trained on the tip of his finger.

"Just watch it with your eyes, don't move your head," he orders kindly.

He moves his finger first to the left and watches intently as her green eyes follow its path. Then, he moves back completely to the right, her eyes still following. Bringing the tip of his finger back to the center of her face, he moves closer to her nose, waiting for her eyes to cross as they follow his finger. Instead, she flinches away, her eyes seemingly unable to stay fixed on the target.

"Good job, Perdita," he cheers regardless. He thinks he can hear an ambulance in the background and he starts to breathe a little more evenly. "One more favor. I'm going to say three random words and I want you to count to ten before you repeat them back to me. Ready?"

"Yeah."

Wally casts his mind about wildly, spitting out the first three words that enter his stream of consciousness.

"Green, eyelash, ponytail."

Perdita keeps her eyes on his face, looking more at his nose than directly in his eyes. She counts silently, her thin lips forming around the numbers awkwardly.

"Green," she starts slowly, a far off concentration starting to settle in her gaze. "Eyelash." There's a long pause before she trails off, her voice growing panicked. "I can't remember the last one."

Shushing away her concern, he smiles softly at her, his hand patting her shoulder gently."You did a good job, Perdita."

He looks over her shoulder as the crowd around them parts, letting in two medics with a backboard.

"Perdita?" Wally waits until her attention settles on him instead of the commotion around them before he continues. "You're going to go with these two and they're going to take you to the hospital. I think you have a minor concussion and we just want to get you all checked up, okay?"

"Yeah," she repeats again, panic growing again as the medics bring the board into her line of vision. Her green eyes slide over the crowd and her voice is so small and silent when she says, "I still don't see my uncle."

Moving out of the way of the medics, he watches them talk in quiet, efficient tones as they help her onto the board, fitting her head securely in the brace. He looks out at the crowd, but doesn't see anyone struggling to get closer to Perdita.

A sudden hand at his shoulder pulls his attention to his immediate left and there's Artemis, cool and calm. Though her eyes stay mostly on the still emptied ocean, her gaze flickers to him and he feels instantly grounded. He's suddenly very aware of the pressure and heat of her hand against his still-wet shoulder.

"Go with her," she urges, leaving no room in her tone for argument.

But of course he argues anyway.

"No, I need to stay-" he starts, gesturing blindly at the chair. Two people are always needed at the post, why doesn't she remember this? He stares at her slanted eyes still watching out over the ocean.

"No, you need to go with her so she's not alone." With the hand still resting against his shoulder, she pushes at him. Her calluses rub rough on his skin, and he takes a single step in the direction she's directing him in. "_Go_," she repeats. She shakes off his unspoken question. "I'll call someone. Dick, maybe."

"Are you sure?" he presses. He's leaning towards the medics who are carefully lifting Perdita up off the ground, but still he stands his ground, waiting for Artemis to change her mind.

"Go," she says for a third time, a note of finality so crystal clear that he does not respond.

Then she tosses her oversized t-shirt at him, somehow knowing he wouldn't take the extra time to grab his own overshirt out of The Cave.

He nods in wordless thanks and follows the slowly moving medics as they make their way back through the maze of towels and umbrellas that had been hastily moved out of the way minutes before. The ambulance waits for them on the boardwalk, lights still on and flashing alarmingly.

Tugging the purple shirt over his head, he smells sunscreen and soap. The shirt, large on Artemis, is tight around his arms and loose around his waist. He tugs at the hem and breathes in her scent, feeling more secure with every step.

* * *

An hour later, Wally sits in the waiting room of the hospital, head resting in his hands as he stares down at the ugly linoleum floor.

A warm hand lands on his shoulder and he nearly jolts out of his seat. The wooden legs of the chair scuff against the floor unsettlingly.

"Woah, Kid," Barry starts, hands up defensively in the air. "Relax. It's me."

Wally nods, looking away sheepishly. He stands up from his seat and groans as he feels his hip pop stiffly. Barry leads the way out through the revolving doors at the emergency room entrance, his arm resting comfortingly across Wally's shoulders.

"So," he says as they step out into the still bright sunshine. Wally blinks at it in surprise. He had thought it had been later in the evening. "Rough day?"

"Let's just go home, Uncle Barry," he sighs, tucking himself a little tighter into his uncle's touch. It's childish, he knows, but he's grateful when Barry doesn't say anything but just grips his shoulder a little more firmly.

"How's the little girl?" Barry asks as they walk through the parking lot.

"Perdita," Wally tells him, thinking it's somehow important that Barry knows her name. "She's fine. Minor concussion."

"Are they keeping her overnight?"

"Nah," Wally shakes his head. He keeps his gaze forward, not looking up at his uncle, though he can tell Barry is watching him. "They let her go a little while ago. She left with her uncle. I didn't want to leave until I saw that she was all right."

Barry snorts a little laugh as if to say, "typical." Raising his hand momentarily from Wally's shoulder, he ruffles his flaming hair. Wally doesn't even duck out of the way like he normally does and can feel tiny grains of sand fall over his shoulders.

He thinks for a moment about how Perdita's uncle had brought her out of her examination room and how she had pointed out Wally immediately. Her uncle came over, thanking him profusely and offering up an explanation about why he wasn't there. Wally hadn't much paid attention to the uncle, instead focusing on how Perdita hugged him good with a little more color in her cheeks and more light in her eyes.

It's not until they're in the car that Wally speaks up again.

"Her uncle apparently went to get something to eat from the boardwalk," he glares, snapping his seatbelt with vigor. "He shouldn't have just left her."

Wally turns his attention to Barry, eyes hot and hoping to see an equally angered expression. Barry, instead, disappoints him by sighing wearily and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"No, he shouldn't have. But that's not your call," he reminds Wally. He looks after at his nephew with a serious expression. "You were there for her when her uncle wasn't and you saved her." Barry reaches across the console between their seats to clap a hand on the back of Wally's neck. He leans in with a smile as he says, "Be proud of yourself. I know I am."

When Wally smiles back at him, it's small but genuine. Satisfied, Barry turns the key and the hum of the engine carries them home.

* * *

He's not even fully in the house before Iris has him in a fierce hug. She's kissing his hair and promising to make his favorite dinner. He stands on the veranda, half inside the house and reassuring his aunt that he's okay and Perdita is okay and everything is okay.

She steps away and tweaks his nose before leading him inside the house, asking if he wants ham steak or roast beef.

"I saved a life today, don't I deserve both?" he half-teases, grinning lopsidedly at his aunt to prove to her that he's fine.

She laughs, relief clearly evident in her expression as she heads into the kitchen. Barry smiles at Wally before hurrying in after his wife. Despite her enthusiasm, Iris has never quite had a knack for cooking.

"Oh," his uncle says before stepping completely into the kitchen. "You had a visitor while you were at the hospital."

The flick of his eyes to the cough draws Wally's attention to where his bag rests against the cushions. In his haste to get to the hospital, he hadn't bothered grabbing it from The Cave.

Wally stares at it curiously until his uncle shrugs.

"Artemis dropped it off," he says simply. Then he glances down at his nephew's torso, grinning. "Nice shirt, by the way."

Wally pulls a face after him, but he disappears into the kitchen before he can see Wally's expression.

Then he turns to face his bag again, wondering how she delivered the bag. If she introduced herself, if she threw it and ran, if she rolled her eyes and called him an idiot for leaving it there.

Wally's not sure how long he stands there, staring at his bag and twisting his hands in the hem of his borrowed shirt.

* * *

_Please review!_


	10. chapter ten

_If you were hoping that this chapter would be as long as chapter nine, well, you'll be disappointed. This is a short interim between this chapter and chapter eleven, which will be nice and long. This is just a nice little evolution for Artemis and Wally. Please enjoy!_

_**NOTE**: I am not a lifeguard. I have never been a lifeguard. I have never even been saved by a lifeguard. Any and all lifeguard duties are researched through observation, internet research, and discussion with a friend who is a lifeguard. If you are a lifeguard and you notice a mistake, please let me know. I want my writing to be as realistic as possible. :)_

_**Disclaimer**: I do not own Young Justice or The Decemberists (the title comes from their song Summersong)._

* * *

**I taste the summer on your peppery skin.**

**chapter ten**

The Cave is mostly quiet, save for the sound of his pencil dragging quickly over the form as Wally describes the events of the day before. Outside the thin walls, he can hear muffled noises of beach goers and people trailing along the boardwalk. The overcast weather permits it to be less crowded than usual and Wally can't say he's disappointed. He could use a day with less people.

He's nearly finished his paperwork when the creak of the door signals that someone else has entered. Without turning his head to see who it is, he listens closely to the padded footsteps that falter somewhere behind him.

"Wally."

Artemis's voice settles in the space between them and he turns enough in his seat so that he can see her. She stands tall, her feet flat on the ground and positioned perfectly straight as she faces him. He thinks he can see the beginnings of sunburn blossoming over her nose and in a small patch on her left shoulder.

"Hey," he says softly, mouth just barely turning up at the corners. "Just finishing up some of the paperwork." He gestures down at the small packet in front of him, completely filled out except for the last section or two.

"Right," she nods, her eyes trained on the paperwork to avoid looking anywhere else. Her thumb jerks in the rough direction of the chair outside. "Kaldur's already out there."

"I know," he reminds her, still smiling. He nods over at the cubbies where Kaldur's small homemade pouch is clearly visible. "I saw him drop his stuff off in here a few minutes ago."

"Right," she repeats, shifting her weight onto one leg so that her posture becomes supine. Artemis crosses her arms and looks away from in a way that he's come to know as something she does when she's nervous.

"I'll take over for Dick as soon as I'm done this," he promises, turning his attention back on the paper before him.

And as he checks off boxes and writes short descriptions, Artemis moves quietly around The Cave, gathering up her belongings. He thinks she might be stalling because it really doesn't take that long to pick up a single bag and walk out of the room. A stray thought enters his mind that, maybe, she's waiting for him.

Paperwork finished, he tucks it into an envelope beside the dry-erase board for Kaldur to take to the head lifeguard staff after their shift. When he turns around, he's not surprised to see Artemis staring at his form. He can feel her eyes continue to watch him as he walks over to his own cubby, pulling out her now-wrinkled purple shirt.

"Uh, here's your shirt," he tells her lamely, holding out the balled up fabric for her to take.

She pulls at a single corner of it, letting it unravel before draping it over her sunburned shoulder.

"Thanks for bringing my bag," he finishes, lifting his eyes from where her shirt rests against her to look at her dark eyes.

Artemis shrugs casually, but he can see a bit of self-satisfaction flicker across her face before she trains it back into nonchalance.

"Thanks for bringing my shirt," she returns.

Then, conversation trailing off, she turns to leave. He watches the twist of her skinny wrist as she pulls the door open and makes to walk over the threshold and onto the boardwalk. But she pauses in the doorway, form still for just a moment before she makes up her mind to turn back and look at him.

She's backlit from the meager sunlight outside, but he can still see the carefully controlled expression twisting on her face.

"You were fast," she says quietly, without much meaning or force behind it. But something in her eyes creates goosebumps to spread like wildfire over his arms.

"I'm always fast," he answers cockily, one side of his mouth raised in a smirking laugh.

A smile cracks over her still face, and she nods once before stepping out on the boardwalk and disappearing from his sight.

* * *

_Please review!_


	11. chapter eleven

_I'm so excited to finally post this chapter! This was one of my favorites to write and I think you guys will really like it. Thanks for reading!_

_**NOTE**: I am not a lifeguard. I have never been a lifeguard. I have never even been saved by a lifeguard. Any and all lifeguard duties are researched through observation, internet research, and discussion with a friend who is a lifeguard. If you are a lifeguard and you notice a mistake, please let me know. I want my writing to be as realistic as possible. :)_

_**Disclaimer**: I do not own Young Justice or The Decemberists (the title comes from their song Summersong)._

* * *

**I taste the summer on your peppery skin.**

**chapter eleven**

Wally's not really sure how he got here, but Megan apparently has convinced everyone to show up on the boardwalk Friday night for the weekly show. Some weeks it's a band, some weeks a dance troupe, but this week, she tells them all with excitement clear on her pretty face, is a magic show.

Giovanni Zatara stands grandly on the small stage, cape sweeping over his magical boxes while his lovely assistant, also his daughter, holds his top hat beside him, smiling winningly out at the crowd as he extracts a white rabbit.

Wally opens his mouth for the umpteenth time to explain how the trick really works, but Dick digs his elbow into his side, effectively cutting him off. Wally glares down at his friend, rubbing his rib cage indignantly. Really, Dick keeps elbowing in the same place and it's actually starting to hurt.

Kaldur, witness to this blatant abuse, does nothing except raise his eyebrows disapprovingly at Wally. Wally sighs with defeat, lower lip pouting momentarily, but he can't help but smile at Megan's obvious delight at the show.

She's pressed again Conner's side, clapping with the conclusion of each trick. Whether or not she honestly believes this is magic, Wally doesn't know, but without a doubt she's highly enjoying herself.

The show ends as expected, with a glorious reveal of Zatanna in one piece after being sawed in half. Pyrotechnics explode across the stage, lighting up Giovanni's bowing form. He then gestures to his daughter as she curtsies cutely.

Beside Wally, Dick lets out a shrill whistle and Zatanna looks out over the crowd curiously to see who it was. Dick, of course, ducks behind Wally before she can spot him.

The crowd soon clears out now that the show has finished. Megan parts from Conner to head closer to the stage and the rest of them shrug collectively and follow in suit.

Megan, having been moving on her own, reaches the stage much more quickly than the rest and is already heavy in conversation with the young magician's assistant when they catch up to her.

"Hi," Zatanna greets happily. The decorative feather adornments in her hair bob cheerfully as she waves to each of them in turn. Wally can feel Dick practically buzzing beside him.

"I was just telling Zatanna how much we enjoyed her show!" Megan spouts bubbly. She then introduces everyone to Zatanna, pointing to each person in turn. "Zatanna, this is Conner, Artemis, Kaldur, Wally, and-"

Dick moves quickly in front of Wally, positioning himself just before Zatanna. "Hi! I'm Dick," he blurts. He rubs a hand against the back of his neck before continuing, his voice slower and cracking less, "Great show. My favorite trick was the disappearing doves."

"Yeah, that's one of my favorites, too," Zatanna nods, eyes delightful as she beams down at Dick.

Wally turns to the side, his eyes meeting Conner's as they grin toothily in wordless agreement to tease Dick relentlessly.

"We were about to head over to the carnival," Dick blathers on. Wally exchanges another look with Conner and everyone else, this time curious. That hadn't been their agreement. "Would you like to join us?"

"Yeah, of course!" Zatanna nods, feathers dashing around her head frantically. She then rises on the stage, turning on her heel to face her father. She watches him pet the rabbit and place it gently into the cage before speaking up. "Dad, would it be all right if I hung out with everyone for a little bit?"

Giovanni looks over at the group, his eyes cautious and expression unwilling. But then Dick and Megan team up with Zatanna to look over at the magician pleadingly.

"Please, sir?"

Having been on the receiving end of Dick and Megan's combined pleading, Wally's not at all surprised when Giovanni finally relents and gives his daughter permission to go off with them.

Zatanna thanks him profusely, packing her feathered hat away in a trunk that spits out glitter when she opens it. She opts to stay in her magician's assistant uniform, bowtie and all, and skips over to everyone.

"Come on!" she smiles, all teeth and pink lips. She brazenly loops arms with Dick, who looks like he's about to pass out, and leads the group away from the stage.

With Dick in tow, Zatanna and Megan chatter merrily about the show with Megan asking how her father performs his illusions without a magic wand.

"Easy," Wally interrupts, finally able to speak without Dick's elbow constantly jabbing into his side. Artemis pinches the skin above his elbow, but he ignores her. He opens his mouth to explain the basics of each trick, but Zatanna looks back at him with an amused expression.

"It's because he says all his spells backwards," she says matter-of-factly, her eyes glinting mischievously at Wally.

His supposed friends all laugh at his expense with Artemis piping up to say, "I like her."

Zatanna smiles at the obvious approval and without further comment, the group heads towards the carnival set up on the other end of the boardwalk.

(&)

Soon after arriving at the carnival, their group splits into two. Zatanna, eyeing the strong man's test, challenges Conner to test his strength against hers. The others laugh as he blinks down confusedly at the determined girl easily a third of his size.

But Megan and Dick start placing bets on Zatanna's impending victory and it's with an amused shake of his head that Conner follows them off into the crowd.

Wally makes a move to join them, but Artemis and Kaldur each catch him swiftly by the elbows.

"Let's give them some peace," Kaldur advises, gently tugging Wally in the opposite direction.

"No need to be a fifth wheel," Artemis chimes in, tugging less gently.

"Careful with the merchandise," Wally warns her, eying the iron grip she has on his arm.

She gives him an exasperated look and twists her hand against his skin sharply before releasing him. He lightly hits his elbow against her in response and they pause in their steps to glare at each other, nose to nose, smirks growing on both their faces.

Kaldur coughs beside them, with a remark that he spots someone he remembers from high school over in some unspecified location. With quick, graceful steps, Kaldur edges away from them and disappears into the swelling crowd meandering about the carnival.

"And then there were two," Wally comments, pulling away from Artemis to watch Kaldur leave.

Eyes still tight with a glare and mouth still angled with a smile, the two walk casually throughout the carnival without any certain destination in mind. Dusk settles around the shoulders as the sun sets away from them, and when they walk, their hands bump against each other occasionally.

Wally notes with a certain level of happiness that she does not draw her hand away and makes a point to brush his knuckles against hers in a discreet manner.

A few minutes later, they enter the games portion of the carnival and Wally lights up at the sight of one of the two-person target games.

"Come on," he urges, hand against her shoulder to steer her towards the game. "I haven't played one of these in forever." He feels her resist against his touch and he looks down at her in confusion. "What?"

She looks on at the game apprehensively before stating, "I've never played one before." She looks at him, pointing her chin in his direction as if daring him to mock her.

"Seriously?" he exclaims, eyes wide. He can't imagine a childhood without these silly games. "You poor deprived child, you. It's easy, I'll show you."

He leads them over to the game, fishing out two dollars from his pocket to hand to the bored game leader. He ignores her protests that she can pay for herself and pulls the stool out for her to sit on. She looks at him, unmoving until she sighs and relents, tucking her long legs under the bar and looking at him expectantly.

Wally sits on the stool next to her and points to the targets a few feet away, handing her a green plastic water pistol. "You just aim this at the target and try to hit the bull's-eye. When you do, your meter rises." He watches as her eyes flicker to the meter above each target. "The first person whose meter hits the top wins."

"Easy enough," Artemis shrugs before pointing her gun at the target.

The game leader turns on the mechanics, bells and whistles playing obnoxiously as the game begins. Focused more on Artemis than the game, Wally is impressed when she hits dead center of the target immediately. His own aim falters for a moment before he matches center, but it's clear that Artemis's meter will reach the top before his.

A few seconds later, the bells chime to signal Artemis as the winner and the game leader tells her to pick out a stuffed animal as a prize.

Artemis, with a particularly proud look on her face, selects a small Pikachu dangling off the end of the banner. The game leader hands it to her, and she and Wally vacate their seats to let a few kids behind them take over.

"Here," she tells him, pressing the Pikachu into his hands. "It reminds me of those ridiculous sneakers of yours."

He glances down at his shoes, scuffed up yellow and red sneakers kicking against the wooden boards of the boardwalk. Laughing a little at the comparison, he presses the Pikachu to his chest with exaggerated charm.

"Sweet, a souvenir," he smiles at her. She rolls her eyes at his comment, but he can see her smile behind her hand as she tucks a stray blonde strand behind her ear.

"I never had a girl win me anything before," he tells her, pressing his side to hers companionably.

"Well, isn't it just your lucky day?" she says with her usual level of sarcasm. But when she speaks again, it's with a shyness in her voice that he's not accustomed to hearing from her. "That was fun, thanks."

She meets his eyes with a smile that makes him think immediately of how soft her mouth looks and he thinks his own expression might be stupidly happy in response.

"No problem, babe."

The moment, or what might have been a moment, Wally's not really sure, ends as his stomach starts to grumble.

"God," Artemis starts, half-curious, half-concerned, "are you ever not hungry?"

"No," he answers honestly. His mouth salivates at the all-encompassing smells of carnival food in vendors around them.

With Pikachu tucked safely under his arm, he order a large bucket of vinegar fries, extra vinegar. In his experience, if the vinegar doesn't melt out the bottom of the bucket, it wasn't a successful batch.

With his delicious purchase in hand, Wally turns around to see Artemis waving him over to where she has found their group of friends. Apparently, they had commandeered a bench looking out over the ocean.

Wally walks over to them, munching happily on his greasy snack.

"Cute," Dick greets, eyes nodding at the Pikachu under his arm.

"My spoils for the day," Wally says proudly, beaming at Artemis. Kaldur looks somewhat nauseated by the half-eaten food in Wally's mouth, but to Artemis's credit, she doesn't flinch.

"A fry for the victor?" he asks grandly, holding his bucket out to Artemis.

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees everyone slowly turn their heads in tandem to gawk at him. He ignores them as Artemis stares at his vinegar fries with mixed interest and revulsion.

"What _is_ it?"

"Boardwalk fries!" he informs her, eyes popping out of his head. It feels like déjà-vu from when she told him she had never played a carnival game. "Oh my God, you've never had one of these delectable treats?" She shakes her head, still eyeing the fries with concern. Wally wonders, not for the first time that night and certainly not for the first time since he's known her, what sort of childhood she must have had to have missed out on all these staples.

He holds the bucket closer to her, shaking it a little with insistence. "Try it."

In a manner similar to how she had selected Kaldur's sushi many afternoons ago, she pulls a few fries from the bucket and chews them carefully. She balks at the intense flavoring of the vinegar, but otherwise nods approvingly.

"Not bad," she says after she swallows. She reaches out to take a few more fries and he doesn't stop her.

"Told you," he says arrogantly. Then he gives her a teasing look as she bites a fry in half. "Of course you'd like vinegar."

Artemis wipes the grease on her fingers onto his shirt sleeve in retaliation.

Then, the only one not looking at Wally as though he had grown two heads, Zatanna pulls Artemis after her to try the bumper cars. Her enthusiasm makes Wally wonder how often she's able to get away from her magician's assistant gig.

He smiles as the two girls zig and zag through the crowd before turning to face his friends with curiosity. They are all staring at him and Megan especially looks as though she's about to reach over to test his forehead for a fever.

"_Dude_," Dick breaks the stunned silence, his stare somehow intense even through his sunglasses. "You actually shared your food with her."

Wally blinks at the realization and that, right then, is when Wally starts to think he might be in trouble.

* * *

_Please review!_


	12. chapter twelve

_:D You guys are gonna love this. Thank you for reading and a special thank you to my beautiful reviewers!_

_**NOTE**: I am not a lifeguard. I have never been a lifeguard. I have never even been saved by a lifeguard. Any and all lifeguard duties are researched through observation, internet research, and discussion with a friend who is a lifeguard. If you are a lifeguard and you notice a mistake, please let me know. I want my writing to be as realistic as possible. :)_

_**Disclaimer**: I do not own Young Justice or The Decemberists (the title comes from their song Summersong)._

* * *

**I taste the summer on your peppery skin.**

**chapter twelve**

Wally doesn't see Artemis for three days until the next time they are both scheduled to work the same afternoon.

The four hours are spent with awkward comments, discreet glances in her direction, and the desire to swim out into the water with the intention to never return.

"What's your damage?"

She asks him this and a variety of other similar phrasings throughout the four hours and he doesn't really know how to answer. But then she smiles and shoves at his shoulder and the burn he feels when her fingers leave his skin keeps him grounded.

Five o'clock comes surprisingly quickly and the pair blow their whistles loudly, waving to the swimmers to tell them it's time to be done for the day. They wait until every last person is out of the water before they exit the tower.

Waiting until Artemis is matched on his other side, hands high on the beams of the chair, Wally pulls the chair down so they can brace it slowly onto the ground. Artemis retracts her hands first and Wally lets the chair fall the final few inches to the sand with a muted thump.

Making sure the path is clear behind them, they pull it backwards and leave it settled far away from the water and the umbrella'ed beach goers.

Quiet with the success of another day done, they both walk to retrieve the green flags from the shoreline and make their way back to The Cave, kicking sand at each other as they go.

Once inside, Wally takes the flag from her hand to place both of them in the corner of the cramped room. Artemis pulls both of their bags out of their respective cubbies, handing his out to him when he's done with the flags.

"Thanks," he says sincerely, smiling at her in a way that he hopes is nice and not awkward.

The way she smiles back at him causes him to blurt out without thinking, "Wanna hang out on the boardwalk with me?"

She blinks, surprised, before nodding.

"Sure."

Pulling her shirt, it's evergreen today, over her head, she extracts her denim shorts and a belt out of her bag. Tugging the shorts on, she loops the belt around her waist, changing her shirt into a tunic of sorts.

When she's finished, she sees him still staring at her and she smirks.

"Like what you see?" she teases, kicking her feet into the flip flops she's thrown onto the ground.

"You wish, harpy," he shoots back with a roll of his eyes.

But he holds the door open for her with a flourish and a bow and she elbows him in the stomach on her way out.

Wally presses a hand to his stomach and thinks this is exactly how she makes him feel all the time.

* * *

"I'm telling you, he hasn't been this smitten since he crashed and burned with Barbara in high school. Ten bucks that Zatanna and Dick get together by the end of the month," Wally bets, pushing through the door of the cheesesteak place where they had just finished dinner.

They are instantly met with the evening sun and the summer heat feels good after the long exposure to the building's air conditioning.

Artemis actually laughs as though the thought is ridiculous and shakes her head. "Like Zatanna would wait that long for Dick to get with the program." She thinks for a moment, eyebrows meeting in the middle as she projects the inevitable beginning of their younger friends' relationship. "I give it two weeks," she settles.

"You're on."

He holds out a sideways hand and Artemis shakes it smartly, her other hand settled on her hip confidently.

"Hey," she says suddenly, retracting her hand from his to point over to the side. "That very excited kid over there seems to know you."

Already guessing who she means, he turns to see Bart waving his arms at him.

"My cousin," Wally explains as they make their way over to him.

Bart is standing beside a sign advertising paintball with a live target. Wally looks in the small cage to see Bart's friend Jaime dressed in armor from head to toe.

"Hey, cuz," Bart beams at Wally for a millisecond before casting a curious look at Artemis. "Hello, pretty lady." Bart immediately pulls Artemis's hand to his lips for a kiss.

"Hello?" Artemis answers, looking at Wally as though willing him to explain.

"Bart," Wally says, careful not to laugh at the frantic expression on Artemis's face, "this is Artemis."

"Wow!" Bart whistles. He looks at Wally with an evil glint in his eye and Wally doesn't have enough time to make him shut up before he says, "The devil is hot with hellfire."

He winks grandly at the two of them and Artemis gives Wally a peculiar expression. He shakes his head at her as if to suggest he had no idea what Bart was talking about.

"And, we're leaving," Wally says, glaring in Bart's direction. Unsurprisingly, his expression makes absolutely no impact on Bart's innocently delighted face.

Artemis nods goodbye to Bart before they both turn to leave in the opposite direction. Behind them, Wally can hear Bart and Jaime burst out laughing.

"Cute kid," Artemis says, looking over her shoulder at the pair doubled over.

"Less cute when you live with him," he assures her, his voice fond and annoyed all at once.

They walk past a shop displaying neon shirts and paint-splattered hoodies. Wally can hear a remixed version _Call Me Maybe_ play when a group of teenagers exit the store.

"You live with your cousin?" she asks suddenly, eyebrows raised in question.

He looks at her in surprise. Artemis is usually the last in their group to ever talk about their families, to even question someone else about theirs.

"Well, during the summer, yeah," he explains, deciding not to question her. "I live at school during the year and with my parents during holidays."

"But you live with your aunt and uncle over the summer?"

She trails them over to one of the many gazebos positioned between the boardwalk and the beach, settling down on one of the benches overlooking the ocean. Wally sits beside her, his knees knocking into hers clumsily.

"Yeah, I think my parents need a break from me," he jokes, half in humor and half in truth. "Of course, after the summer, I need a break from Bart."

She smiles at his comment, which is exactly what he hoped she would do.

"But you know how cousins are," he continues. "I can't imagine Roy is a cuddly bunch of fun."

Wally watches as she nods, the smile dropping off her expression. She looks out at the water, at the mild waves crashing every few seconds.

"Uh, actually," she starts, clearing her throat and turning to face Wally better. "Roy's not really my cousin."

Wally shrugs, not understanding her meaning. "I mean, yeah, he's adopted, but-"

"No," Artemis shakes her head, holding her arms up to stop him. "I mean, I'm not really related to Ollie or Dinah."

This surprises Wally. Kaldur had introduced her as Ollie's niece and she had never said anything to the contrary. Artemis sits before him, arms now crossed on her chest and eyes hard as if expecting him to say something. He keeps quiet though, patient enough for her to finish speaking before he says anything.

Once she realizes he's not going to talk, Artemis continues, letting her guard down somewhat. "Not that it's any of your business, but I went through some issues in high school and had to go talk it all out with the school therapist."

She spares him another look, waiting for him to react, but he remains silent.

"That's how I met Dinah," she goes on to explain. "And, I don't know, it just sorta worked. And we kept up after high school and I met Ollie and he for some unknown reason took a liking to me."

Artemis looks away from Wally to focus on her hands folded tightly in her lap. She smiles down at her hands with a softer expression. "Dinah says he's always wanted a daughter, but I don't know."

Having met Ollie on more than just a few occasions while hanging out with Roy, Wally can say with absolute certainty that Artemis is exactly the type of daughter Ollie would love. He doesn't tell her this, but he smiles at her in a way that makes him think she understands.

"But yeah," she flushes, pulling her ponytail in front of her chest to pull at the ends of her hair. "Honorary family member. This is the first summer I've stayed with them." She smiles brightly, eyes flicking up at Wally to look at him through her eyelashes. "I mean, I've always been welcome, but this is the first time I took them up on that."

The tone of her voice suggests that she's finally done talking and they sit in the quiet of the gazebo while Wally searches for the right thing to say.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

The air around them feels charged with her story and he finds himself reaching forward to where she's twirling the same strand of hair over and over. He catches her hand deftly, the tips of his fingers brushing against her hair.

"Artemis?" He squeezes her hand and feels his heart leap up in his throat when she squeezes back. "I'm glad you're staying with them."

He suddenly has the wonderful idea that maybe he should kiss her. He should kiss her in this gazebo, with the sun setting behind the ocean, with the summer wind playing on the tips of their noses, with his hand tangled up in hers in a mess of fingers and blonde hair.

But before he can do anything, Artemis is standing up, her hand pulling away from his.

"You're a runner, right?" she asks as casually as if asking about the weather, bending down to pick up her kicked off flip flops.

He only nods, feeling as though the ground has disappeared from under his feet.

"Then catch me if you can."

And with that, she dashes off the gazebo and bounds down the steps. He doesn't even realize she's running away until she hits the sand, running madly away.

"Cheater!" he yells, laughing despite himself.

Reaching down to grab his own quickly discarded sandals, he leaps off the side of the gazebo, disregarding the steps all together, and runs the moment the soles of his feet touch the sand.

She's fast, he realizes, but there is nothing to her form to suggest that she's ever been taught how to channel her speed. Her bag smacks against her hip as she sprints ahead of him, past the end of the boardwalk. With a wild look over her shoulder that nearly throws of her trajectory, she spots him and narrows herself down lower to gather more speed.

"Race you to the rocks!" she declares, voice loud and panting. "If I win, you have go into the water."

"Oh, no," Wally says in mock fear. "Anything but the water!"

The end of her ponytail trails behind her like the tail of a comet, and when he reaches out to catch the end of it, she doesn't shriek or cry out. She just jerks her head away, her hair slipping through his fingers hastily.

He pulls himself up next to her with ease, his face pulled into an exaggerated look of terror. If she's surprised that he's beside her, she doesn't say anything. She just pants with each step, eyes glancing at him with that same superior look she had the first time they met.

"You have to skinny dip."

"Fair enough," he agrees, still running in tandem with her. "And if I win," Wally continues cunningly, starting to run a little faster until he's a few paces ahead, "you have to go with me."

She yells incoherently as he runs faster, legs pumping madly as he pushes himself closer and closer to the rocks. He can feel his chest tighten with the exertion and his blood is fire coursing through his veins until he is only a few feet away from their destination.

Slowing himself down, he turns around to find Artemis a few paces behind. He stands directly in her path, effectively cutting her off.

"Beat ya, babe."

And even though the sky is nearly dark, the stars barely peeking out across the navy expanse, he can see her face bright red with adrenaline and frustration.

"Told you I was fast," he reminds her cheekily, hands resting on his knees as he tries to catch his breath.

Huffing and panting, she glares up at him, her mouth open and gasping a snarl. They both take a moment to look around each other, keeping a lookout for wondering eyes. Wally is overwhelmingly thrilled to find no one else on this far end of the beach.

With no legitimate reason to back out of the deal, Artemis growls and drops her flip flops and bag unceremoniously on the ground. They are soon joined by her shorts, unzipped and kicked off to the side with the belt soon following.

Her eyes never leave his except for when her shirt passes over her face. Artemis tosses it at his head, where it lands in a piled mess over his face. The dark green fabric obscures his vision as she peels off her uniform-issued bathing suit, and he can hear it land resolutely on the sand.

The sound seems to draw all the oxygen out of the air, and he imagines that she is standing there, glaring and waiting for him to peek. But he leaves her shirt on his face, breathing in the smell of her sunscreen, until he can hear the familiar sounds of someone wading into the water.

"Fuck!" she yells out, voice louder than the rush of the ocean. "It's fucking cold."

Less than dignified curses and splashing follow her cry as she pulls herself further into the water.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to leave a girl waiting?"

With that remark, Wally lets the shirt drop from his face. Artemis is up to her neck in the ocean, hair slicked over her bare shoulders as the water ebbs and flows around her.

"Not while you're staring at me," he insists, arms crossed over his chest in modesty. He drops his sandals from his hands and the bag from his back before reminding her, "I kept my eyes shut."

"Yes, and it will go down in history as the most decent thing you've ever done."

He's too far away to tell, but he thinks she might be rolling her eyes if the mocking tone of her voice is anything to go by.

But then she seems to relent and turns around so that he can see the back of her head. Counting to ten, he waits to see if she turns around. When she stays resolutely away from him, he pulls his shirt off in a single motion and kicks away his swim trunks where they land next to her shorts.

When he looks up at her again, she has taken to floating serenely. He can see the naked swell of her breasts, but it's too dark to see much more than the silver outline of her form balanced calmly on top of the water.

True to what she said, the water is cold the moment it touches his skin, but the goosebumps along his arm have little to do with the temperature.

Once he's waist deep in the water, he splashes at her until she slips her body back into the ocean. She eyes him with a strange expression as he moves in closer to her, her arms pale and ghostly under the water as she treads.

"I've actually never done this before," he confesses once he reaches her. The chill of the water is starting to subside, replaced by a pleasant numbness in his feet.

She shrugs, and for a moment, he sees water pool in the contours of her collarbone before she releases her shoulders and the water drips down back into the ocean. He watches, mouth dry, as each drop drags down the small expanse of skin revealed to him.

"Well," she tells him as she dips her head backwards into the water, wetting the top of her head, "you introduced me to a world of over-priced games and Boardwalk fries. It's the least I could do."

She drags herself back up from the water, to smirk at him. She splashes water at him idly, her eyes grazing over his face. "I can't believe you really never did this."

Automatically flinching away from the water splashed in his face, he grabs her hands to still them. Without use of her hands, her legs kick more fiercely as she continues to tread the water.

"Careful," he tells her as one of her feet brushes quickly against his knee. He brings her hands closer to him as he grins slyly. "I hear there's an eel in this water."

With a tetching noise through her teeth, Artemis pulls her hands away from him. She gives him a significant look that he can only blink at before she inhales sharply and dips completely underwater.

It's too dark for her to actually see anything below the surface of the water, much less anything at waist-level, but Wally squirms away from her all the same. He's not proud of the shriek he emits when he feels calloused fingertips prod and brush at his hipbones.

Artemis reemerges, instantly releasing her puff of air, and runs her hands over her hair to keep loose strands from sticking to her face.

"Weird," she says, words falling from her water-slick mouth, "I didn't even see any guppies."

The glint in her eyes makes him stick his tongue out at her, but she only looks up at him with a smug expression.

Wally doesn't really know when it happens, but Artemis's hands press against his shoulder, using him as an anchor. His own hands reach up and hold her thin wrists in place with his eyes locked on hers.

Her eyelashes, wet with sea water, stick together at the ends, forming little daggers that blink at him. He watches droplets trace around the curve of her mouth, over the cut of her jaw, down the length of her neck before disappearing back into the ocean in the space rapidly closing between them.

"I think we should kiss."

Wally speaks very quietly, his words barely audible over the gently lapping ocean. Another droplet of water falls from the tip of her nose to swell of her lower lip and he wants desperate the catch the droplet with his mouth, to taste the salt on her lips.

Instead, her tongue darts out, licking away the droplet. She shakes her head, her eyes soft and distant.

"I think we should get dressed."

Without warning, she pulls her hands away and splashes water directly into his eyes. Instinctively, his hands come up to rub the water away, the salt burning his eyes as he blinks blurrily.

By the time his vision clears, Artemis is already out of the water and throwing her clothes back on. He watches as she tosses her bathing suit into her bag, grabs her shoes, and gives him a final look from the shoreline with something like an apology written on her features.

Wally thinks maybe he should call out to her, try to make her talk, but all he can do is stand in the water and watch her leave without once looking back.

* * *

_Please review!_


	13. chapter thirteen

_****Somehow, I just knew you'd all like the past chapter. :) After a couple long chapters, this is a short chapter about the aftermath. I hope you enjoy it, despite it's brevity._

_**NOTE**: I am not a lifeguard. I have never been a lifeguard. I have never even been saved by a lifeguard. Any and all lifeguard duties are researched through observation, internet research, and discussion with a friend who is a lifeguard. If you are a lifeguard and you notice a mistake, please let me know. I want my writing to be as realistic as possible. :)_

_**Disclaimer**: I do not own Young Justice or The Decemberists (the title comes from their song Summersong)._

* * *

**I taste the summer on your peppery skin.**

**chapter thirteen**

"I'll stay nearby in case this doesn't work," Dick promises, settling himself down at the small table in The Cave.

"I owe you big time, Dick," he promises, edging himself out the door.

"Hey, what's a best pal for?" he assures him, waving his hand as if wiping away the matter. "And Wally?"

He pauses at the doorway to look back at Dick.

"Good luck."

* * *

"Wow, Dick," comes Artemis's amused voice when she hears Wally start climbing the side of the chair. "How long does it take you to drop off your bag? Did Zatanna text you or something?"

When Wally raises into her line of vision, he can see the amused look on her face immediately slide off. She drops her bottle of sunscreen, white globs still visible on her leg.

"Wally," she starts, her back stiffening and leg muscles clenching as if she's preparing to jump off the side of the chair.

He sits beside her, closer to the edge than to her, too scared she'll run away if he gets any closer.

"I talked Dick into switching with me," he explains before she cuts him off.

"What did you tell him?" Artemis asks, voice sharp and eyes wide. He can see her nails dig into the sides of her crossed arms.

"Just that I really wanted to talk to you," he assures her, hands up defensively. "I remembered that you were scheduled to work today and I went to The Cave to see you, but I ran into Dick instead."

Artemis opens her mouth once before snapping it shut and looking out angrily onto the ocean to watch the early morning swimmers.

"Don't be mad!" Wally pleads, reaching a hand out to touch her before thinking better and pulling away. "I just want to talk."

"There's nothing to talk about."

Her tone is so final, so absolute that he does not push the matter. When he doesn't speak again, Artemis relaxes enough to uncross her arms and rub the rest of her sunscreen in.

When she reaches to grab the bottle again, Wally already has it in his hands, squeezing some into his hands. She looks at him for a moment, face carefully blank before her eyes flash with an argument she's lost to herself. She turns in her seat with her braid pulled over her shoulder, her back and shoulders bare before his eyes.

And like that afternoon weeks ago, Wally rubs the sunscreen across her shoulders, trailing his fingers along her spine until he reaches the nape of her neck. His hands flutter around her shoulders before resting there gently.

Not knowing what propels him to do so, he moves in closer until his shallow breath rustles the hair at the nape of her neck. He can see Artemis's profile focused out over the water, but her absolute stillness alerts him that she's very much aware of his proximity to her. But she doesn't stop him and so he lets himself move closer.

With the scent of sunscreen, soap, and sunshine filling his senses, he presses his lips to her neck. He rests there, unmoving, for several moments before pulling away silently. The tip of his nose brushes past her earlobe and he can feel several flyaway hairs skim over his cheeks as he leans back.

Artemis is silent for a long time, still hunched away from him and clutching her braid. When she speaks again, it's a quiet dismissal.

"You have sunstroke, Baywatch."

* * *

When Wally walks back into The Cave, Dick is still sitting idly at the table, making a tiny paper crane out of a blank rescue form.

Upon seeing Wally, he looks at him expectantly, nose wrinkled to keep his sunglasses from slipping.

"You don't have to say anything," Dick says when it becomes clear that Wally doesn't want to talk. "It's not my business."

He rises from the table, ready to head out and meet Artemis for their shift. He hands Wally the paper crane before opening the door.

"Give her time, Wally."

Wally nods, staring at the paper crane and wondering what to do next. The crane stares back at him, offering no solutions.

* * *

_Please review!_


	14. chapter fourteen

_I'm very grateful that everyone enjoyed the last chapter. I was a bit worried. :) I hope you enjoy this one as well!_

_**NOTE**: I am not a lifeguard. I have never been a lifeguard. I have never even been saved by a lifeguard. Any and all lifeguard duties are researched through observation, internet research, and discussion with a friend who is a lifeguard. If you are a lifeguard and you notice a mistake, please let me know. I want my writing to be as realistic as possible. :)_

_**Disclaimer**: I do not own Young Justice or The Decemberists (the title comes from their song Summersong)._

* * *

**I taste the summer on your peppery skin.**

**chapter fourteen**

A few days later, Wally is so prepared to spend the afternoon on the chair with Artemis that he actually loses his grip and falls off the chair when he climbs to the top and sees Conner sitting there instead.

Kids near the water shriek with giggles at the sight of Wally falling on his ass, but nothing compares to Conner's booming laughter from atop the chair.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, Muscle Man," Wally mutters, righting himself and climbing back up the chair with a blush painting his skin a glorious red.

He sits beside his still chuckling friend who at least as the decency to ask him if he's okay.

Wally brushes aside the question, more concerned with what he considers the more important matter at hand.

"Where's Artemis?"

"Good to see you, too," Conner responds, laughter subsiding and leaving a grin in its place.

"You know what I mean," Wally rolls his eyes. He remembers when they first met Conner, the broody silent man of steel. Who burrowed under his shell and allowed him to have a sense of humor?

"She called to say she was busy," Conner shrugs, looking out over the water and ignoring the giggling preteen girls staring up at him along the shoreline. "Asked me to take her shift."

"Did she say why?"

"No."

"Did you ask why?"

"No."

Wally stares at Conner in disbelief until Conner finally accepts he can't ignore him anymore and turns to face him.

"Dude," Wally stresses once he has Conner's attention. "We've been over this. When a bro needs another bro, said bro helps the other bro out."

This time it's Conner's turn to stare in disbelief.

"Just call her."

Conner refuses to talk about the matter after that point, no matter how many times Wally pokes him in the arm.

* * *

Wally sends Artemis no less than three texts messages and one voice message.

_hey, missed u at work today. evrything good?_

_did u not come to work b/c of me?_

"Hey Artemis. I know things got a little weird and I'm really sorry. I never meant to make you feel uncomfortable, but I just... Artemis, I know I was a jerk to you when we first met. I just, I was embarrassed because I was late, because Dick said that shit about me wetting the bed, which isn't true, by the way. I don't know if I ever told you that, but it really one hundred percent isn't true. But yeah, I was also embarrassed because a pretty girl watched me fall on my face. So then when you started joking around with me, I got weird. And then, well, you were there. You know what happened next. But things changed. Artemis, I like you, and I like the way your sunscreen smells, and I like that you know archery because I think that's cool and I don't know anyone else who does archery, and I like that I got to give your first Boardwalk fry ever, and I like how you look in the water at night. And I really like that you told me about how you met Ollie and Dinah. I think maybe you told me so much that night that it was hard for you to do anything more. And that's why you didn't want to kiss me then. Because you can't deny that you didn't want to kiss me at all. Anyway, I forget the point I was trying to make, but I'm sorry and I like you and I wish you would please stop ignoring me."

_pls delete ur voice message w/o listening to it._

* * *

_Please review!_


	15. chapter fifteen

_Not gonna lie, this might be my favorite character because I finally got to introduce some of my favorite characters. I hope you all enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them!_

_**NOTE**: I am not a lifeguard. I have never been a lifeguard. I have never even been saved by a lifeguard. Any and all lifeguard duties are researched through observation, internet research, and discussion with a friend who is a lifeguard. If you are a lifeguard and you notice a mistake, please let me know. I want my writing to be as realistic as possible. :)_

_**Disclaimer**: I do not own Young Justice or The Decemberists (the title comes from their song Summersong)._

* * *

**I taste the summer on your peppery skin.**

**chapter fifteen**

Even though he had planned on giving Artemis her distance, Wally still finds himself outside of the Queen beach house a few days after the voicemail fiasco. With his shaking courage, he rings the doorbell and hopes, for one wild and desperate moment, that no one is home so he can leave without Artemis ever knowing he was there.

However, these hopes are dashed a moment later when the door opens to reveal Oliver Queen himself.

"Ah!" Ollie exclaims before Wally can say hello. "Another!"

Wally stares at him in great confusion, wondering if it wasn't in his best interest to just leave and pretend he never rang the doorbell at all.

But then a small flutter of movement causes Oliver to turn around and Wally can see Dinah walking up behind him.

"Ollie," she scolds exasperatingly, "stop alienating the kids."

Then, ignoring Ollie's pout, Dinah turns her attention to Wally with a welcoming smile on her pale face.

"Hey there, Wally," she greets. "Let me guess, you're here to see Artemis?"

"Yeah," he says, relieved to not have to say it himself.

"Good," Dinah nods approvingly. She and Ollie move out of the way so that Wally can walk into the foyer. "She could probably use some friends right now."

Wally wants to ask what she means, but she's already leading him through one of the archways and into the kitchen, the heels of her boots clicking smartly against the tiled floor. The kitchen is as pristine and gleaming white as Wally remembers it from the last time he visited Roy, and he wonders if the fridge is still as packed as it was then.

As if she can read his mind, Dinah smirks in a way that reminds him inexplicably of Artemis.

"Help yourself," she laughs, gesturing over to the refrigerator. "We actually have a bit more food since Roy hasn't been around to eat us out of house and home. I'll go get Artemis, just stay here for a moment."

Then she's leaving through the archway, the sound of her boots growing quieter with each step. With her blessing, Wally walks over to the fridge and extracts an apricot. He closes the door and turns to head back to his stool when he nearly jumps.

Ollie is standing in the archway, his goatee looking particularly villainous as he jabs two fingers at his eyes before pointing back at Wally. Wally really isn't sure if it's because of the apricot already in his mouth or because he's here to see Artemis. But he lets the apricot drop out of his mouth and into his outstretched hand as he stares at the older man in the archway.

"Oliver, really," comes Dinah's amused voice from the staircase.

Oliver sighs, his fierce expression wilting as he looks away. He gives Wally another nod accompanied with a wink before following his girlfriend upstairs.

Wally has know Roy and, by extension, Ollie and Dinah for four years now and he still doesn't quite know what to make of Ollie. Shrugging it off, he resumes his seat at the counter and thanks whatever farmer's market the family shops at because this is, without a doubt, the best apricot he's ever eaten in his life.

A few moments later, a dark haired woman saunters in so quietly that Wally starts in his seat when he sees her. He chokes on his fruit, coughing and spraying juice onto the counter, when the woman slinks over.

She stands across from him on the opposite side of the island, elbows resting on the counter and chin resting on laced fingers. Her almond eyes, cat-like and curious, search over his face in a manner that makes Wally feels as though she's skinning him with a single look.

"Fresh meat," she over-annunciates, lips curving lasciviously. "My favorite."

"Leave him alone, Jade."

Both turn to see Artemis crossing through the archway, hands on her waist and eyes narrowed at the woman.

"Touchy, touchy," the woman, Jade, comments. She pushes herself away from the counter, back arching in a luxurious stretch. "I'll leave you two darlings to it then. Fight nice, Artemis dear."

Then with a roguish smile and wave of her slender fingers, she slips around Artemis, tugging on Artemis's ponytail as she does so, and exits the kitchen as silently as she entered it.

Artemis continues to watch her leave with the same frustrated expression before finally turning around to face Wally.

They stare at each other awkwardly for a moment and Wally is painfully aware of how stupid he probably looks, sitting in her not-uncle's kitchen with a half-eaten apricot in his hand.

"So," he cuts through, awkwardly putting the apricot on the counter, "hey."

"Hey."

She doesn't step closer, doesn't drop her hands from her hips, doesn't even blink.

"Hey," he says again, mentally berating himself as soon as he says it.

But, socially graceless as it might have been, it does inspire Artemis to sigh and walk to the refrigerator to pull out a carton of blueberries.

"We already covered the 'hey' part of our conversation," she reminds him, kicking the fridge closed as she turns to face him.

"Right," he nods clumsily. His mind, suddenly blank of everything he'd wanted to tell her, casts about for a suitable topic. "So. Um. Who was that?"

"My sister," Artemis says shortly. She pops a blueberry in her mouth viciously. "She decided to come for a visit."

"I never knew you had a sister."

"We're not close," she snaps. Her fingers crush a defenseless blueberry, the juice inking her fingers a rich purple. She stares at the stain with a ferocity that unnerves him.

A smarter person might have dropped the subject, but Wally presses on carefully.

"So then why did she come to visit?"

"She just did," Artemis shrugs. She's silent as she grabs a napkin from next to the fridge.

Wally watches her tense back as she pauses in her movements. She mutters something like, "dammit, Dinah" before turning around with a heavy sigh.

"Actually no," she says, sounding suddenly tired. Artemis rubs her fingers against the napkin, but Wally can see the stain has not completed faded. "She came because apparently our dad was up for parole."

Well. Wally had not expected that one.

"What?" he says, half-rising from his stool to lean closer to Artemis.

She gestures to him to sit back down before twisting the napkin in her hands as she glares out one of the many kitchen windows.

"Remember how I told you I went through some shit in high school?" Artemis turns to face him, waiting until he nods before continuing. "Well, my dad got arrested five years ago. A few counts of theft and a few more of battery and assault," she explains, answering the questioning look on his face. She doesn't look alarmed by his record, so Wally relaxes and refuses to assume the worst.

"A few days ago," she continues, "he was up for parole and Jade went to our mom's house to check on us, make sure we were okay. So then Mom told her where I was and now," Artemis shrugs and casts a dark look in the general direction where Jade had vanished, "here she is."

"Nothing like a jailbird to keep the family together," Wally half-jokes, trying to catch Artemis's eye.

Artemis actually smiles a little at the comment, which Wally takes as a huge success.

"Yeah, I guess." Her postures relaxes some and she tosses a few more blueberries into her mouth with a shrug. "But she's... a handful. Ollie seems to like her though," she says as though that settled the matter.

"Do you know when she's leaving?" Wally asks. He's partially curious for Artemis's sake and partially curious because, to be honest, Jade makes him a little nervous.

"Probably not until after the Fourth of July." Artemis suddenly makes an annoyed expression and gives a spectacular roll of her dark eyes. "Roy's apparently coming home for the holiday and she wants to meet him."

"That's nice, I guess," Wally says, taking another bite out of his previously forgotten apricot.

Artemis gives an undignified snort before pinching the bridge of her nose. He can see under the bright kitchen lights that it's peeling from old sunburn.

"You clearly don't know Jade," she informs him. She lowers her hand away from her face to lean in towards Wally. "She saw a picture of him and said 'Juicy.'"

"Right," Wally nods, not wanting to know what that meant for Roy. Then he coughs, his eyes flickering between his apricot pit and Artemis. "So, um, your dad was up for parole? Um, did he get it?"

"No," Artemis tells him brusquely, taking the pit from his hands and tossing it expertly into the trash can. "Dad doesn't really play well with others."

He can't quite read the look on her face and Artemis is hardly someone who wears her heart on her sleeve, so he takes a stab in the dark about what he should say.

"I'm sorry," he tells her only for her to look at him with raised eyebrows. "Or that's good?" Her expression doesn't change and he scrubs a hand over his face. "Look, I really don't know what to say here."

Something in his earnest expression strikes a chord with her and she's smiles at little, looking over at him with something that might be fondness.

"Just shut up, Wally."

"I can do that," he promises.

A moment passes between them and Wally is sure this time that it's a moment. He's getting better at recognizing them.

Always someone to take advantage of a moment, he presses forward with a blush forming under his freckles.

"So, uh, sorry about all the messages I sent you. I just thought you were avoiding me. Or something."

"Well, you got the 'or something' part right," Artemis scoffs, not unkindly. But then she smiles at him and Wally thinks he can hear everything fall back into place.

"Just forget it," she shrugs. "I guess this all just puts everything in perspective."

Nodding at her words, he hears something in her voice that sounds like a goodbye, so he picks himself off the stool and makes his way towards the front door. He waits for her to say something or to keep him from leaving, but he guesses it's her turn to watch him leave.

* * *

_Please review!_


	16. chapter sixteen

_We're almost at the end, guys! This is the second to last chapter. I'll say this again with the next/last chapter, but I just really want to say thank you so much for reading. And a huge thank you to everyone who reviews. It means so much to me._

_Speaking of reviews, I received one asking more about the nature between Artemis and Lawrence's relationship. **I want to stress that it was not an abusive relationship.** I mean, he's not the best of guys, but he didn't abuse Artemis, Jade, or Paula. He was just a crook who left the family when Artemis was a young girl. He was arrested when she was in high school for theft and a few cases of battery. By that, I mean he stole from stores/people/whatever and got into fights whenever people tried to stop him. It's a very common charge for minor criminals. I wanted to make Lawrence Crock a bad guy without making him supremely bad. This is still a lighthearted story and bringing in an abusive storyline would not match up to the established tone of the story. I'm so sorry if there was any confusion._

_**NOTE**: I am not a lifeguard. I have never been a lifeguard. I have never even been saved by a lifeguard. Any and all lifeguard duties are researched through observation, internet research, and discussion with a friend who is a lifeguard. If you are a lifeguard and you notice a mistake, please let me know. I want my writing to be as realistic as possible. :)_

_**Disclaimer**: I do not own Young Justice or The Decemberists (the title comes from their song Summersong)._

* * *

**I taste the summer on your peppery skin.**

**chapter sixteen**

"So what do I do now?" Wally asks distressingly.

Barry washes the dinner plates in the sink contemplatively. Wally brandishes a dish towel at him impatiently, causing Barry to chuckle.

"I don't know, Kid. I haven't had a problem like this in over twenty years."

"We've only been together for nineteen years," Iris chimes in from her place at the island where she's wrapping up the leftovers.

"Oh please," Barry leans away from the sink to grin at his wife. "We both know I was madly in love with you for a year before you even deigned to go out on date with me."

"Best bet I ever lost." She walks over to put the tupperware in the fridge, pausing behind her husband to stand on tiptoe and kiss the back of his neck.

Wally makes a grand show of gagging, but his uncle just laughs and hands him another dish to dry.

"Just be honest with her," Iris advises, a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Tell her how you feel."

"Oh, God," Bart's voice trails in from the other room. "Just kiss her and get it over with already."

Bart walks in and looks underwhelmingly at his cousin. Wally just scowls at him, tucking the newly dried plate in place in the cupboard.

"Who invited you into this conversation?" he shoots at Bart who leans against the doorway with a bored look on his face.

"You're talking in my kitchen," Bart states with a one-shoulder shrug as if that explained everything. "Anyway, everyone's known you guys were going to get together since you came home that first day and called her evil."

"What?"

The dishtowel falls out of his hand in surprise. He spins on the spot to look at both his aunt and uncle, only to find them sporting mildly apologetic faces.

"Sorry, Kid," Barry chuckles, raising his soapy hands out of the sink as if to say, "what can I do?"

From the doorway, Bart starts making slobbery kissing noises, lips smacking and eyes bright. Wally darts after him and Bart makes an undignified squeal before running out of Wally's reach.

"Please don't kill him," Iris calls after her running family. "We don't have a spare in the closet."

Wally doesn't make any promises as he chases a laughing Bart around the couch.

* * *

_Please review!_


	17. chapter seventeen

_And we're finished! Last chapter. :) It's been a fun ride and I am so appreciative of the amazing attention you've all given this story. Thank you to everyone who's read the story, who's favorite this story, anything. And a very special thank you to everyone who reviewed, especially those who have loyally reviewed each new chapter. It means so much to me to talk to you guys about my writing and I'm very grateful to all of you. I hope you enjoy the conclusion._

_**Disclaimer**: I do not own Young Justice or The Decemberists (the title comes from their song Summersong)._

* * *

**I taste the summer on your peppery skin.**

**chapter seventeen**

The Fourth of July comes with a bang. Literally.

Wally wants to know who decided it was a good idea for Dick to have access to fireworks. And judging from the apprehensive looks on everyone else's face, he's not alone in his thinking.

But Zatanna laughs with each whizzing flash of light, blue eyes wide and precious as she asks Dick if she can light the next one.

Kaldur smartly intervenes, taking the matches and lighting the fireworks away from everyone. Dick and Zatanna follow, pouting slightly to have had the matches taken from them. The way they keep exchanging glances makes Wally think that he might owe Artemis that ten bucks after all.

"I like your friends, Red," Jade comments next to a frowning Roy, lavishly draping her legs over his. "They provide pyrotechnics and snacks." And with that, she leans forward to take a bite of his perfectly roasted marshmallow still impaled on the stick.

Roy glares down at the bite missing from his marshmallow and Megan is the only one in the group to take pity on him as she tosses a fresh one his way. Despite his obvious annoyance, Wally notices Roy doesn't push Jade away.

Conner tucks another piece of driftwood into the small bonfire in the middle of their close-knit circle. He leans back and drapes his arm back across Megan's shoulder and she moves closer to him as though they are both an extension of one another.

Wally just smiles at his friends, happily letting his marshmallow catch fire on the end of his stick.

"Careful there, Sparky," Artemis warns from the other side of the fire, the flames flickering and casting a soft orange light on her cheeks.

"The burnt ones are the best," he assures her, pulling his marshmallow away to blow the tiny flames out.

She holds his gaze through the sparks flying out over the bonfire, and he can't help but smile in return. Her hair is down for once, he notices, the blonde hair falling softly around her face and reflecting the glow of the fire.

"Take a picture. It'll last longer," Jade advises to his left, a protective gleam clear on her sharp features.

Everyone in the vicinity snickers and soon it's more than just the heat of the fire burning on Wally's cheeks.

"Oh no," Megan says suddenly, reaching into the bag of marshmallows. "We're almost out." She holds up the nearly empty bag in show.

"I think there's some still in The Cave," Wally comments, rising from his seat. "I'll go get some."

He walks away from the fire, feeling immediately the cool relief of the summer night's air. Behind him, he can hear Roy tell Jade that if she tries to sit in his lap one more time, he's going to throw her into the ocean.

Smiling to himself, he slips into The Cave, not bothering to turn on the overhead light, and begins looking for the second bag of marshmallows he thought he saw Kaldur drop off earlier.

As he sifts through the plastic bags of supplies, the click of the doorknob behind him lets him know that someone else has entered.

He turns around and is instantly greeted with the sight of Artemis leaning against the door, hands still resting on the doorknob.

It's dark, but the silver moonlight streaming through the tiny window lights up her profile and he can see clearly that she's smiling at him.

"I tried to escape without anyone noticing," she starts a little nervously, "but you know Dick."

Wally half-expects that if they were to open the door, they'd find no less than three people standing there eavesdropping.

Artemis takes a few steps away from the door, crossing her arms as she makes her way in front of him. She's wearing his Stanford sweatshirt that he left on the beach, he realizes. The sleeves of his sweatshirt are just a little too long on her arms. She's folded the cuffs a few times to keep her hands free, one of them coming up to push loose hair behind her ear.

"You know," she tells him quietly. "I deleted your voicemail without listening to it."

"Good," he answers, just as quietly.

The strand of hair she had just pushed behind her ear falls back down in protest. She moves to tuck it away, but he moves faster. He brushes the strand of hair softly, looking at her hesitantly before she nods and he smoothes the hair away from her face. He pulls his hand away, letting the back of his fingers trace along the line of her jaw.

"What did you say?" she asks, leaning infinitesimally into his touch.

"Nothing. It's just," he shakes his head, trying to figure out the best way of phrasing it. "I sometimes talk without thinking."

"So you left me a thoughtless message?" she asks, one arched eyebrow raised, though the accusatory expression is ruined by the small smile tugging at her lips.

"No!" he yelps, hands raised with his palms facing her defensively. "There are things I want to tell you and telling you through a voicemail just didn't seem right."

"What do you want to tell me, Wally?" she asks, the teasing expression gone from her face and replaced with pure curiosity.

Wally feels taken aback, realizing this might be the first time he's ever seen her with her guard down so low.

"Look," he starts, struggling a little with his words, "this could wind up being one of those things that sounds better in my head than out loud, but you're not your family."

She gives him such a look that suggests he's saying the absolute worst thing and he hastens to correct himself, desperate not to waste this moment.

"You know, I mean I get it. You told me a lot that night in the gazebo and if we kissed that night, you might have thought I needed to know more about your family. It's a rough subject, I get it. But you don't ever have to worry that I'm going to judge you based on something your dad did."

He raises his hand again to brush against her face, fingers light over the curve of her cheekbone and the soft arch of her eyebrow.

"You've got nothing to worry about with me, okay?" he finishes, voice sincere and intent as he steps a little closer into her personal space.

"Okay," she agrees with a single nod.

She brings up her own hand to mirror his, her calloused fingers simultaneously rough and gentle as they connect the dots between the countless freckles on his cheek.

"And Wally?" she continues, her voice barely more than a rasp. He looks up to meet her eyes, pulling his gaze from where it had been watching his thumb brush near the corner of her mouth. "It sounded fine out loud."

Something about the way she looks at him through her eyelashes makes him pull her closer to him, banishing any space between them until he holds her flush to his body. He's relieved to feel her heart racing as quickly as his own as their fingers twine clumsily at their sides. Wally rests his forehead against hers, finally close enough to her to feel her breath sliding over his chin.

"I didn't think much past this point," he reveals, laughing shakily.

"You don't think much at all," she returns, rolling her eyes fondly.

Then her hand slips to the back of his head and she brings him down the final few inches until her mouth meets with his in a glorious union.

* * *

When they return to the campfire a half hour later, it's with significantly less fanfare than he expected.

He thinks Megan might have had something to do with that, if the warning glares she gives everyone are any indication. He'll have to thank her later, he reminds himself.

They sit back around the bonfire, though this time they settle down next to each other. It's quiet for a grand total of three seconds before Dick finally combusts like one of his fireworks.

"So?" Dick asks, blurting out the question that's obviously on everyone's mind.

Wally grins at the unspoken question, holding up his hand clasped tightly in Artemis's as an answer.

Applause erupts around them, with the exception of Roy, who hasn't really been around to understand what's going on, and Jade, who glares at Wally as if daring him to hurt her sister.

"We should have done this a long time ago," Wally whispers to Artemis, looking away from his friends to smile at her.

"No kidding," she responds before he leans down to press another kiss to her full mouth. She catches his lower lip and he thinks he might melt right on the spot.

Someone, probably Dick, catcalls and Wally can feel a marshmallow hit his back, but he's beyond caring.

Artemis pulls away, hair wildly loose around her face and gray eyes bright as she looks up at him.

"Best summer of your life, Baywatch?"

"You bet, beautiful."

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_Please review!_


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